


Amor Non Exurat Flamma

by SassyFlamingo2



Series: Amor Non Exurat Flamma [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Altissia (Final Fantasy XV), Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Crush, Awkward Ignis Scientia, Awkwardness, Blind Ignis Scientia, Blushing, Broken Bones, Caring, Cooking, Crushes, Dessert & Sweets, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fall of Insomnia (Final Fantasy XV), Fluff and Angst, Headaches & Migraines, Ignis Fluff Week, Igtober 2020, Insomnia, Lestallum (Final Fantasy XV), Massage, Near Death Experiences, Nighttime, Oblivious Ignis Scientia, Office, Older Ignis Scientia, Post-Fall of Insomnia (Final Fantasy XV), Protective Ignis Scientia, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Fluff, Secret Crush, Secrets, Self-Doubt, Shy Ignis Scientia, Shyness, Slow Burn, Starscourge (Final Fantasy XV), Stress Relief, Young Ignis Scientia, adding tags as I go, greyshire glacial grotto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:34:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25136983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyFlamingo2/pseuds/SassyFlamingo2
Summary: Vassa Gracelia Caelum is a cousin of Prince Noctis himself, taken in my noble King Regis himself when she was just a babe. The raven haired nearsighted girl has grown up knowing the Prince, the Shield, the Sharpshooter, and the Strategist all her life, and retains a particular corner of her heart for one bespectacled advisor himself. She believes that her love is unrequited however and opts to remain silent for her days as working as the assistant to one Ignis Scienta herself. When it grows time for the royal party to leave for the approaching wedding, she never imagined that she would be joining them on their quest to bring back the light, and finding love for herself along the way.This is Ignis's and Vassa's story, a slow burn romance that shows that even the most fiery blossom needs time to bloom into a wonderful beauty
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Original Female Character(s), Ignis Scientia & Original Female Character(s), Ignis Scientia/Original Character(s), Ignis Scientia/Original Female Character(s), Noctis Lucis Caelum/Original Female Character(s), Prompto Argentum/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Amor Non Exurat Flamma [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1829086
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1 ~ All in a Day's Work

"Shit, shit, shit!"

"Language, Vassa." The softly accented voice of the adviser to the future king of Lucis casually chided as the desk outside his own office thumped loudly when Vassa's head came in contact with the dark wood. Despite his warning, another stream of quiet curses spilled from her lips as she shuffled back on her knees, clutching her hands to her head to try and calm the burning pain now flaring through her skull. She squinted her grey-blue eyes the color of a stormy sky, trying and failing to see the landing place of her dark rimmed glasses through the blurry haze of her vision to see the scattering of dropped paperwork that lined the floor under her desk. 

Of all the things she could have inherited from her mother, why did it have to be the weak vision that left her unable to see past six inches from her face without glasses?

She heard the sound of clipped footsteps stride up behind her, and glossy black shoes entered the edge of her vision as long legs folded down, a single hand clad in a silver leather glove reaching across from her knees and picked up the object she had been in search of. "I do believe this is what you were looking for?" 

A single finger tipped her chin upwards and the gloved hands gently guided the dark frames to rest on her face, careful as not to muss the wavering strands of her shoulder length raven hair that had been so quickly pulled up into a hairclip at the back of her head this morning, but was now slowly falling down as the morning dragged on. A quick check behind her ears for a proper fit, and then a single finger pushed the lenses up her nose to rest properly in front of her eyes once more. "There we are, a perfect fit once again."

Yes, perfect was a word that she had always associated with Ignis Scienta. 

Her boss, long time friend, secret crush, and the advisor to her cousin Noctis, the reigning prince of Lucis. Ignis had always been the utter image of perfection with his achievement of every action he performed right down to the details of his person. A tall figure impeccably dressed in a dark suit and plum and black patterned silk shirt, his tawny hair was perfectly spiked up in a crown atop his head and vibrant emerald eyes glowed with an inner light of amusement, the soft smile that curved his lips was one that sent Vassa's heart fluttering as she realized just how close he knelt to her own body. With her newly refocused vision, she could see every single ache scar on his face and count the eyelashes that lined his eyes peering through the crystal clear lenses of his own frames. "Thank you, Ignis." She mumbled softly, ducking her head to break to the intense focus of his glance while she stood up and pushed a hand through the escaping strands of her hair. 

Ignis straightened up, brushing off her concerns with a wave of his hand. "Not a problem at all. Do you have the-" She lunged for the paperwork on her desk, eager to have something to do with her hand as she quickly located the reports of the meeting that Ignis was due to arrive at within the next few minutes and thrusted them towards his arms. "Ah, thank you."

"The team members elected for your absence are still not entirely prepped for their duties. This should give you a rather brief overview of the issues they wanted to address with you before you depart." She rattled off with surprising speed as a slight frown creased the advisor's face while his fingers flipped through the documents in his hand. With Ignis's departure tomorrow for Altissa as a member of Noctis's party along with his royal protector and shield Gladiolus Amicitia and his best friend Prompto Argentum, she had hand picked a capable amount of staff to handle the Citadel's duties that both she and Ignis had been able to handle alone. It wasn't totally surprising to her that the newest staff members were having trouble with juggling so many of Ignis's duties. There wasn't many outside of herself and his royal highness King Regis that truly understood how heavy the duties were that weighed on the advisor's shoulders.

Ignis clapped the documents together with a sharp snap. "Thank you Vassa. I will not be returning to my office this evening after the meeting, so if anyone else calls with a series of concerns, please do forward those to my phone and I will confront those as I am able to."

"I'm surprised if you will be able to answer anyone at all considering that you've got to get Noct ready for his trip tomorrow. He probably hasn't packed a single thing yet." She mused, reaching for the ceramic purple mug that held a cup of the prized coffee Ebony that was a favorite of both Ignis and herself. A coffee machine and pitcher sat atop a table in one corner of their shared office, the steaming black liquid constantly bubbling in the belly of the glass decanter and producing a cloud of delicious bitter scent so strong that many who entered the office came away with a buzz of caffeine after merely breathing the air. 

"His highness should be-" Ignis had started to reply when a small buzzing noise began ringing from his phone. Reaching a hand into the inner pocket of his jacket, he removed his phone and shut off the alarm, signaling his need to depart for the meeting. "My apologies, Vassa. I'm afraid I do have to leave. I assure you that I will have his highness ready for his journey tomorrow as Gladio and Prompto are both expected to arrive at Noct's apartment tonight to help with preparing him for his journey and clean out his apartment. Please do stop by if you have time. Please do excuse me." With a swift nod of respect in her direction, Ignis Scienta breezed out of the office with the documents in hand and a determined stride to his walk, effortlessly taking the breath from her lungs as he left.

Vassa sank into the depths of her desk chair with a heavy sigh, her legs suddenly unable to withstand her body as his departure left her alone in the office with no one but documents, a computer and her phone for company. Unladylike, she propped her elbows on her desk and braced her hands beneath her chin, greyish blue eyes gazing at the calendar pulled up on her computer screen and filled with dates and events to be taking care of and tasks to be completed before their due date. Two dates were marked in bright red, their important standing out among their peers with the bright text. The first was the departure of Noctis, Ignis, Gladious, and Prompto for Altissa in route of his wedding to the Oracle Lunafreya Nox Fleuret herself effective as of tomorrow, and the latter date being the actual wedding itself. Despite the promised treaty of peace that would accompany the wedding of her cousin, she still couldn't shake the deep thorns of dread within her heart that the empire was lying and the lethal war that had seized the kingdom of Lucis would continue for years more. 

Lingering in the corner of the screen was an insistent flash of light along the side, a quickly growing list of emails that demanded the attention of Ignis Scienta. Idly hovering over the messages to determine their true purpose, she was both surprised and also not to discover that several of them requested the advisor's actual attention and not his assistant even though the answers were pieces of information that she knew as well. She scoffed lowly under her breath, reaching for a sip of her Ebony as she began the process of forwarding the messages over to Ignis's private account so that he could deal with them at his leisure. 

She began to wonder how many of them would come to realize that she would be handling the majority of Ignis's duties alongside the team she had picked till the adviser returned after the wedding? 

It wasn't that she was not capable of handling the job herself even though she was just as hard a worker as Ignis, but it had become too apparent in the days that passed that she lacked a few qualities necessary to deal with the upper members of the kingdom's management. Namely being a stern personality that would prevent any member from simply bullying her into doing what they wanted. Vassa was shy, had always been shy, and as such was simply quiet about her duties that sometimes Ignis himself had checked in on her to see if she was still there or if he was simply talking to empty air. Noctis had nicknamed her "Shadow" because she was so quiet, or simply "V" when they wanted her attention, but it didn't really bother her. Not even when Gladio and Prompto had taken up the habit of calling her V as well, Ignis being the only one remaining that still called her Vassa.

She adored her friends down to the very fiber of her being and their upcoming absence was looming like a hole in her mind. One that wouldn't be filled till their eventual return even if circumstances were to be changed. 

Born between the elicited affair from a distance cousin of the king himself and an unknown woman, she had no idea how she had came about being placed in the care of Regis, but she was extremely fond of the man who was like a father to her as well. "Noctis's little shadow." He had fondly called her and he was probably right, she was like a smaller shadow of Noctis that followed his every movement and of similar age being six months younger than himself. The barest truth of it was that she had never felt that she really belonged anywhere except along with her cousin. She wore the Caelum name, but only as Vassa Gracelia Caelum. She was not a Lucis and had no access to the linage of power that was bestowed upon the rulers of Lucis by the Crystal. She was a common person in a family of royalty, but Noctis had always included her in everything he did, from playtime to his prince in training activities, she was there to see it all through quiet eyes. 

When Ignis had been placed to supervise the budding prince at just six years old, she was at first extremely wary of the nervous boy that fretted over her playful cousin's every movement, but that too died with time and the rescue of her favorite stuffed lavender Chocobo from where her tiny self had dropped it in the Citadel's royal gardens while playing. Much to her own embarrassment, she remember how grateful she had been to the nervous boy as her six year old self hugged the stuffed animal to her small chest and tried to kiss him on the cheek like she had seen in her fairy tales. The arrival of Gladio had reintroduced that shyness to a new height as she had originally been rather timid of the tall shield, but she had quickly grown fond of him when she found out that he shared her love of books. Prompto's smiling arrival hadn't provided her with a chance to be shy, she had instantly liked the peppy blonde and he did as well. The majority of her collection of Chocobo themed items had been gifts from him. 

As she grew up, she found herself hearing some of the rumors about her being so close to the prince that the Regis had tried to quiet. Wasn't it dangerous for her to be so close to the young heir? Would she betray him if the time came? Her birth linage was unknown, what if she was from the empire and a spy? She could be revealing their every movement to the empire as they spoke. The king had tried as valiantly as he could to keep the harmful rumors to a minimum, but every now and then, they popped up and she tried not to let it bother her even though the prick of the thorns still stung. Some even said that she tried to intimate Noctis with her shaggy cut raven dark hair that reached her shoulders when freed, her grey blue eyes, and the same pale complexion. But it was more than that.

Yes, she did share a familial resemblance with the young prince, but she was also shorter than Noctis by five inches when she wasn't wearing a pair of heels, and she needed glasses desperately to see anything at all. She was quiet, rarely speaking except to those she knew well, and also extremely loving and loyal to those she cared about. She loved scarves and comfy clothing, and she despised snakes with every fiber in her being. Her obsession with purple colored Chocobos hadn't lessened since she was a little girl, and she still had the same stuffed toy sitting on her bed. 

She wished that sometimes people would see her as her own person.

With a dismissive shake of her head, she pushed the troublesome thoughts away and resolved herself to finish her work. Her job was only going to become more difficult with Ignis's absence growing closer and she would need every spare minute to stay ahead of her duties without being swallowed whole.


	2. Chapter 2 ~ Boys Night In

"Night" Vassa smiled and waved her hand towards the older gentleman currently managing the reception desk of the Citadel. The man slightly inclined his head in a nod of respect towards the departing lady as she ventured out into the city of Insomnia for the night. The moon was high and the sky was dark by the time Vassa had finished her work, a very long and very trying day, but if everything went according to plan, tomorrow's events should go smoothly for Noctis's royal departure. 

The key word being should. 

With her car keys in hand, she walked towards the parking garage for the royal staff sitting adjacent to the massive skyscraper known as the Citadel and the residence of Lucis's ruling kingdom and the Crownsguard. A sparkling jewel in a city that was a modern marvel, she was proud to call it her home even though she did not technically live there anymore since she had moved into her own apartment further in the city as had Noct when they both started high school, a request of King Regis so that they could experience the most normal life possible. 

Spotting her little grey sedan, she pressed twice on the unlock button and the interior lights flashed twice as the door unlocked with a quick click. A rather plain car compared to what the other members of the staff and the royal family drove, her trusty grey car was dependable in it's own right as she slid into the seat for one of her most hated activities, driving.

The streets of Insomnia were surprisingly empty that evening as she crept towards Noctis's apartment with a slow and steady speed that a turtle might have outran, but she arrived and wheeled into a parking space just vacated by another resident. Stepping out, she made sure that her Citadel attire of a dark pencil skirt that ended at her knees and an elegantly crafted long sleeve white blouse were all perfectly straight before beginning the long ascent up to her cousin's apartment. 

She quickly jogged up the steps with smooth steps, rejecting the elevator in favor of a little extra exercise for the evening, with her heels clicking loudly against the winding metal staircase leading up to Noctis's penthouse apartment. A tantalizingly sweet aroma floated through the air as she neared the top, gripping her stomach with a dull ache of hunger that reminded her she hadn't eaten anything since the hurried lunch she had wolfed down earlier that day before some other new disaster decided to descend upon her. Ignis had apparently been baking in addition to attempting to pack Noctis's belongings, to feed the hungry masses before they revolted on him was her guess.

She was panting lightly when she reached the top of the staircase and exited out to the hallway outside of the royal penthouse. It was so quiet. Too quiet actually. She hesitated before knocking, right arm upraised and knuckles poised for contact with the entrance but a flicker of doubt flashed quick in her eyes. Perhaps she had been too late and Ignis, Prompto, and Gladious had already departed for their own respective apartments for a good night's rest and a sleeping Noctis was the only one inside. She pursed her lips in thought, considering the option of going in and risking the wrath of a sleep-grumpy goblin or simply returning to her own apartment when she heard a string of familiar beeping noises that brought a smile curling the edges of her own lips. 

"Oh, yeah! Gotcha!"

"You're going down, Blondy!"

Deciding against the knock, she reached down and twisted the doorknob open."Hey, guys! What's up?" Vassa called as she stepped inside, four sets of bodies were gathered around in a semi circle formed by the cushy tan sofa that was backed up to the wall of windows overlooking Insomnia. Noctis occupied the portion closest to her and the door, his blue eyes completely focused on the flashing lights of the game currently playing on the cell phone in his hands.

"Hey, Shadow. About time you made it." The prince of Lucis said without even glancing up from his current activity, the distinctive sounds of King's Knight coming out of the smaller speakers told her that their shared favorite game was the current reason while all four men were so totally immersed in the virtual world. 

"Yeah, I thought we needed to send a search and rescue party to find you." Prompto said, his fingers flying over the screen of his phone in quick jabbing motions that she feared he might accidentally break the delicate screen with his forceful movements. The springs in his end of the sofa squeaked as he bounced slightly with excitement, a direct contrast to the loosely focused stance of Ignis as he sat on the opposite end of the sofa with his long legs casually crossed at the knee and his phone balanced in his lap. On the end, Gladious was the only one who wasn't completely focused on the game at hand. His well-muscled arms were crossed over his broad chest, an angry scowl directed down onto the phone in his lap as he watched the battle with undisguised disgust. His reddish streaked brown eyes briefly flickered up to hers before returning down to the screen to watch the results of the currently raging battle play out.

Surprisingly, the apartment was free of the discarded used clothes, empty drink bottles, old cup noodle containers, and all the other random crap that her cousin had a tendency to accumulate across every available surface despite Ignis's most effective cleaning efforts. She ran her fingers across the small dining table occupying the center of the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to find that her fingers came away clean. The boys must have worked overtime to make the apartment sparkle like this.

"Vassa, would you do me a favor and taste the sweets I baked earlier? It's a new recipe and I managed to retain one particularly for you without the unexpected removal of any of my digits from this ravenous lot." One slender gloved hand pointed over to the counter in Noctis's small kitchen while Ignis's intensely focused eyes never left the screen. 

"Sure thing," Vassa's mouth was already watering from merely smelling the tantalizing aroma, and she crossed over to the kitchen in four quick steps with her target already in sight. A small domed plastic bowl held a scrumptiously flaky square pastry baked to perfectly crisp golden brown and filled with a fluffy white cream that just peaked out from the edges like a small child playing peek-a-boo. She flipped the lid off with a quick flick of her fingers and sat it aside, carefully lifting the delicate work of culinary art to her lips. She gave a slight moan of appreciation as the crunch of the outer layers gave way to a sweetened softer dough inside that coupled with the rich but light vanilla flavored cream so nicely that it was like she had tasted her own portion of heaven herself. "Iggy, I swear. You've got to be the best chef of all time! This is awesome! Your best yet!" She complemented between bites.

A slight hint of rose pink rose to color the chef in question's cheeks as his fingers tapped rapidly against the screen, much to Noctis's groans of frustration that quickly followed. "Shadow. Come here and join in. The Prince of Pain needs the Kickass Queen on his team."

"Yeah, come on over and take a seat! Gladio's already been kicked so we could use a new fourth for the last round." Prompto scooted over with a quick bounce, creating a small sliver of space between him and Ignis would perfectly fit her smaller body.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't think so tonight." She settled between the bouncy blonde and the stoic advisor and was immediately wrapped within the scent of Ignis's Ebony and sage tinted cologne and Prompto's gunpowder tinged fruit scent, letting out a small sigh of relief as she kicked off her shoes and let her tired feet rest from the endless journey of the day's events. "So what's up with that, Gladio? You're usually not the first one out?" She directed her question towards the burly shield.

"Tell that to that little shit over there." Gladio pointed a finger towards the prince of pain himself. "The little goblin over there hid in a barrel and shot me in the back."

"You're just mad because I thought of it first before you could shoot me." Noctis popped back as the game gave a particularly loud whistle. 

Vassa laughed as she watched the prince and shield bicker, alternating between looking over Prompto's and Ignis's shoulders to see who held the current advantage and occasionally offering her advice up to one of the two for a high scoring combo. 

"Vassa, I checked my phone earlier and I noticed that there was a distinct lack of items that required my attention. Quite frankly, based on the status of the events prior to my departure, I was expecting more than the small list I saw there." Ignis's elegantly cultured voice murmured softly in her ear, prompting her to turn her gaze away from Prompto's screen and up to meet the laser like focus of his deep emerald eyes before they returned to the screen below. "I do hope that you weren't holding off on any issues that had arose, now were you?"

Even with the lightest touch of a teasing accusation that colored his words, a light guilty blush flamed her cheeks because she might or might not have put off a few of the more obnoxious demands to be dealt with tomorrow... or a few days down the line. "It simply wasn't that much that had to be dealt with." She shrugged. Yes, she was lying, but it was worth it since Ignis was going to be driving her princely cousin around Eos for the following days

Ignis glanced back up once, suspicion glowing in the depths of the emerald orbs as he could tell the slight clipped tone of a lie, but decided that it wasn't worth the fight as he returned to the game at hand.

Despite Vassa's best intentions to stay awake, it wasn't long before the heavy weight of exhaustion pressed down on her eyelids with undeniable influence and she toppled over slightly to her right onto a warm shoulder that smelled of sage and Ebony, easily falling asleep within mere moments of her eyelids fluttering shut.

_The softest of breezes caressed her face, gently tugging her slumbering mind into wakefulness as she blinked against the sudden invading rays of bright light invading her sight. A crystal blue sky above shone bright with wondrous rays of pure sunshine sparkling down below. The air was perfumed with a sweet fragrance that seemed familiar, but yet the name slipped from her grasp like ink through her fingers. She frowned as something tickled the skin of her forearm and she glanced down, expecting a bug or some other sort of creature, but it was the velvety petal of a violet Sylleblossom._

_She gasped, her grey eyes stretching wide as she raised up to see that she was sitting in a field of the most beautiful Sylleblossoms that she had ever seen, an completely endless sea of deep violet petals that gently bobbed and swayed with the lightest kiss of a breeze. This must be a dream because she was just in Noctis's apartment before..._

_"Do not be afraid, gentle one."_

_Instinct had her springing to her feet, her hands already in preparation to summon the small diamond shaped throwing daggers she frequently used in battle but for the first time in recent memory, the blades did not come. Instead, her fingers stayed empty as she brought her fists up into a crouched fight position before she finally realized the identity of the speaker and stumbled to her feet in a hurried bow._

_Gentiana. The high messenger of the Astrals themselves._

_A woman of ethereal beauty with a stream of long raven hair flowing to her waist, delicately carved features resting underneath a thick fringe of bangs that only served to highlight her flawless porcelain skin. A rich black gown covered her from neck to ankle save for the high cut front that allowed her to step freely in her thigh high black boots. A thin ribbon-like shawl of the purest white draped about her shoulders and contrasted sharply with the long sleeves and wrapped bodice of her gown, but the most striking of all was the olive green shade of her eyes that held the promise of an ancient power than a human could never hope to wield._

_"Listen well, Gentle One," She spoke once more. "For the world is changing quickly and the darkness is coming. Heed the call of the past and the call of the future. Cling tight to the bonds of friendship and love as they are strong and will not be severed no matter the weight of stress placed upon them. The King, the Sharpshooter, the Shield, and the Strategist will be in need of the Gentle One's strength in the coming days far more than is known."_

_Vassa frowned in confusion, her grey eyes glowing with disbelief and self doubt as she shook her head in denial. "Gentiana, what do you mean? I have no strength to give. You must have meant to speak with Noctis-"_

_"No, Gentle One." The Messenger's voice was softly spoken but firm with the resolve of the ages. "Each member will have a destiny to fulfill, and the Gentle One is no different. Remember the bonds and it will provide the strength when the body is tired and weak. Do not doubt the importance of these words because one day the life of the Gentle One may depend upon them."_

_A subtle kiss of ice cold wind tugged at Vassa's mind, rendering the answering reply on her tongue mute and void as a sudden weight pulled down on her form. Unable to stand their own weight any longer, her legs collapsed beneath as her body fell into the cradle of the velvety violet petals below. Her vision dulled, the surroundings quickly becoming fuzzy like she had lost her glasses while the encroaching darkness slowly claimed her until the last thing she could see was Gentiana's softly smiling face._


	3. Chapter 3 ~ Last to Bed, Last to Wake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Special notes about the flowers used here:
> 
> A Pink Camellia symbolizes Admiration, Perfection, Good Luck, A Man's gift, and longing for you.
> 
> Rosemary symbolizes remembrance and love.

_Remember the bonds and it will provide the strength when the body is tired and weak. Do not doubt the importance of these words because one day the life of the Gentle One may depend upon them_

"Gentiana!" Vassa screamed as she lunged upwards from her resting place, chest heaving and lungs burning for desperatly needed air, her wide rimmed eyes darted around the blurry landscape before her in a frantic search for the raven haired messenger, but she was nowhere to be found. Instead, her vision was a mass blur of shapes and shadows as it slowly clicked in her sleep addled brain that it had all been a dream, that she was still in Noctis's apartment on his sofa, and that her glasses were missing _again._

"Shit!" She hissed as her fingers started scrambling across all the nearby surfaces for her lost frames. Apparently shit had become her theme the past few days from how frequently she had lost her glasses. As she reached across to the table in front of the sofa to see if she could feel anything, something largely rectangular, yellowish in color with large scrawled patches of black, and quite thin met her fingertips. She prodded it tentatively with her fingertips, scowling with deep thought as she deducted that it was a large sheet of paper. The question being why did the boys leave her a note?

Taking a firm grasp of the crinkled paper, she held the note up nearly to meet her nose as she squinted until the large blurry scrawls of black came into a somewhat more readable focus.

**CHECK THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD**

Huh? What did it mean to check the top of her head. She reached up a venturing hand, her fingers immediately coming in contact with the cooler metal of her frames nestled securely in her hair. An embarrassed little chuckle bubbled up in her throat as she flicked the frames down into their normal position. It seems that the Astrals had blessed her with no witnesses as to her latest embarrassing adventure. Now with her world fully in focus once more, she glanced down at the note to see a small arrow had been drawn on the lower side indicating for her to flip it over, the distinctive font of Noctis's slightly slanted handwriting her clue as to who had left the note.

_Hey, Shadow,_

_Sorry we left you alone, but it was getting late and Specs was throwing a royal hissy fit if we didn't make it to the Citadel in time to leave properly. Plus you looked so cute sleeping that we just couldn't wake you up. It's been a long time since I saw you drool in your sleep like that, Ignis's shoulder was a little wet where you used him for a pillow, but he's fine. In case you didn't find it earlier, Gladio pushed your glasses on top of your head so that you wouldn't break them or fling them off like you normally do. But if you didn't, I don't know how you're reading this anyway._

_I guess that's all for now. Prompto's taking his last pee break before we head on over to say goodbye to dad and get the Regalia. Take care of yourself and I'll see you at the wedding. Don't forget to lock up when you leave._

_Noctis_

_P.S. Prompto's got pictures of you sleeping on Ignis's shoulder and he was squealing from how cute the two of you are. Are you ever going to tell Specs that you like him yet?_

Vassa blinked twice. Once to fully absorb the entire content of the message, and twice to stifle the blush that flamed her cheeks. She drooled... On Iggy... while she was sleeping? Could her life get any more embarrassing? Astrals, what if she ruined one of his nice silk shirts? Not to mention that she probably wouldn't be able to look him in the eye if he asked her. She was constantly tripping and falling over herself, spilling things, and generally being such an awkward dork that it was amazing that the boys still wanted her around at all. She flopped back on the sofa, grabbed one of the plush pillows scattered around the sofa for Noctis's sleeping comfort, and screamed her frustration into the soft fabric. That was it, she was officially a freak. She should probably go on and join a tribe of Chocobos for the rest of her life. Except that the birds would probably find her too weird and kick her out too.

Her internal rant tapered off as a quick thought flashed to life. Noctis had said that they had to go because Ignis was trying to keep them on schedule... which means that it was already late when Noctis wrote this note and that she was still sleeping at that time. Which also meant that it was late. Very, very late. 

With a sinking feeling of dread, she pulled out her phone from the pocket of her skirt and slid her finger across the screen, the numbers 9:36 glowing brightly in bold white letter across the center of the screen. Noctis was scheduled to depart at 10:00.

"Shit!" She hissed again, shoving her phone back into her pocket and scrambling up off the couch only for the tip of her right foot to clip the edge of the table, sending her crashing forward onto the floor. The air rushed from her lungs with a sharp whoosh when her ribs connected with the floor, her vision growing slightly blurry from watery tears of pain as she struggled to cough. There was no time to rest though, so with shaky hands and a terrible hacking cough that felt like her throat was on fire, she pushed herself to her feet and grabbed her shoes from the floor where she had kicked them last night before stumbling out the door.

It was needless to say that her normally careful driving took a backseat this morning as she ripped a page from Gladio's playbook and drove like a daemon itself was at the wheel. 

She whipped into her normal parking space and jumped out of the car, racing forward towards the elegant formal entrance of the Citadel in her heels just to catch sight of the departing taillights of the Regalia rapidly fading off into the distance behind the protective bars of the front entrance as she jogged to a halt alongside the front steps of the Citadel. "They're gone." She murmured softly to herself. She had just missed them. Just missed saying goodbye to the people she was closest to in all of Eos.

"It doesn't seem possible, does it? That they should be heading off without one of their own in attendance." The click of a cane and the shuffled sound of steps drew her attention away as the sloped figure of King Regis himself watched the retreating taillights of the Regalia until they were firmly out of sight. "My little Noctis, heading off for a marriage when in my mind he is still the little boy who refused to eat his vegetables." 

Vassa strengthened her shoulders back and dipped down into a proper bow to the king of Lucis. "Your Grace, I do apologize for my absence. I can assure you that it will never happen again."

"Don't spend another thought worrying about it, Vassa. The boys told me how hard you've been working lately and said to consider it their farewell gift to you of a late morning's sleep. And, I for one, agreed wholeheartedly. You work much too hard for one so young, both you and young Ignis." Vassa blushed a fair shade of pink as the king chuckled warmly. "If you don't mind, walk with me for a minute, dear." 

"Of course, Your Grace." Vassa bowed deeply at the waist as the king turned to limp up the steps to the citadel under the watchful eye of Drautos, captain of the Kingsglaive. Giving one final farewell glance in the direction of the now disappeared Regalia, she rushed forward on clicking heels to catch up with her uncle and king.

The citadel itself was decorated in shades of glittering blue and sparkling reds, the twin colors of the kingdom of Lucis and the rival empire of Niflheim to celebrate the peace treaty to be signed today along with the arrival of Emperor Aldercapt himself. A moments occasion that would cease the long standing war between these two nations despite that many viewed the supposed deal with a great deal of suspicion, including Vassa herself. 

"We all have a lot of work to do today to prepare for our esteemed visitors arrival." A hidden note of sadness reflected deep in Regis's voice and Vassa couldn't keep her gaze from worriedly flickering up to her uncle's face. The aged lines of wear and tear were carving deep into his skin, his grey hair and slouched steps unsteady as he staggered along with the help of his cane. His life was rapidly draining away to support the protective wall placed around Insomnia and was something that wasn't going unnoticed by those in his service. The king couldn't keep up his duties for much longer before the reign would then be handed to Noctis. "I'm sure you know this as well as I do, but I suspected that our guests will attempt to cause some sort of difficulty. The question being what."

"What can I do to assist you with today's activities? I have Ignis's roster of duties, but if there is something else I could do to assist in your duties, I would be happy to do so."

The king sighed heavily, pausing in his step to reach down and rub a hand over the knee wearing the golden brace. "I had intended to visit Aulea's grave today before the welcoming party and Aldercapt's arrival. Do you know if there are any of those little purple flowers still blooming that I carried the last time? Their scent was so lovely and it brought back memories of my love's perfume."

Vassa gently tugged her lower lip through her teeth while mentally cycling through her thoughts for the flower that his highness had described. If memory served her correctly, she believed the plant in mention was a particularly rare variety of Rosemary grown in the royal garden, but was not in bloom at this current time. However, the original location of the plant had been transplanted from a cave just a couple hours drive outside the city, an easy day's journey to fetch a new bouquet for the king. "That's no problem, It may take a little while, but I will have you a fresh bouquet for your visit just as quickly as I can."

His highness smiled softly with affection, lightly patting her shoulder with one hand. "You've always been such a helpful girl, Vassa. Truly a delight. If you could grant an old man's sentimental wish, then that is all I would ask of you."

"Consider it done, Your Grace. Please excuse me." Dipping low, she bowed swiftly before venturing off with a smile on her lips. Of course she could fulfill her uncle's request with no minor problems. It might even provide a small slice of peace to his strained mind while having to deal with the rather difficult emperor of Niflheim. She rushed to the elevators and up to Ignis's- no, _her_ office now. 

It was just as she had left it last night even down to the computer still humming quietly on her desk. Normally by now, both her and Ignis were usually in attendance at some meeting or other regarding the current state of affairs. However, for now all was quiet even down to the point of the coffee pot that normally bubbled with freshly brewed Ebony. 

Crossing over to her desk, she fetched the spare pair of casual attire that she folded in a drawer of her desk for occasions such as this when she was in need of a quick change. Although not regulation standards for the staff, her deep violet Chocobo embroidered t-shirt, lacy lilac scarf, and blue jeans was quite handy to have in spare. Tucking her outfit under her arm, she stepped inside Ignis's office and closed the door to change. Sweetened with the perfume of the Pink Camilla blossoms she had placed in a small vase on Ignis's desk, she could still smell a tinge of Ignis's perfume floating on the air as she gave a single simple shrug. The white shirt fell from her shoulders with the movement and fluttered to the ground in a pool of white at her feet as she unzipped and stepped out of her rumpled skirt, kicking her dark heels aside to leave her standing in just her bare feet, cream lace accented bra, and underwear except for one small thing.

Nestled in the curve of her collarbones, a simple chocobo shaped pendant studded with small lavender colored crystals for feathers, two black crystals for eyes, a small scattering of carrot colored crystals for the sharp beak and the powerful legs hung from a thin golden chain coiled around the base of her neck. Catching the light and producing a dazzlingly array of reflected light against the walls, Vassa paused and idly stroked her fingers over the small charm about the size of half her thumb, her lips curling up in a small smile as she remembered exactly who and where her favorite necklace had been given to her. 

It was the day of her sixteenth birthday. King Regis himself had managed to clear a small portion of his schedule for the day just like he did for Noctis and had planned a small gathering together of the people closest to her. Basically being his royal highness, Noctis, Clarus Amicitia with his son Gladio and his younger daughter Iris, their butler Jared and his accompanying young grandson Talcott who was little more than a toddler, Prompto, and Ignis himself. The day had been wonderful itself, the cake and the presents were most welcome of course, but what she enjoyed most was the time spent with her valued friends and family even if Gladio and Noctis decided to have a cake eating competition that would have horrified most competitive eaters. And yes, Prompto had taking pictures documenting every single minute of the frosting covered mayhem. But it was when Ignis requested a moment of her attention alone and presented her with the necklace in the elegantly wrapped little box that she was overjoyed with happiness. She had felt like a true lady as she had swept aside her hair and Ignis had fastened the necklace around her neck with precise hands, even allowing Vassa to thank him with a hug before he had departed to attend to the prince of Lucis who had eaten his fill and dozed off into the remains of his own portion of cake.

Her smile grew even wider as she remembered the laughter and the pure joy of happiness. That was a good day. There was no empire, no war, no sickness, and no daemons. It was just the joy of being alive and being together again. Perhaps they could have another day like that soon when they all returned plus Luna. However she did hope that they didn't return back with Luna's brother Ravus. Something about him just irritated her. She had never quite been able to figure it out, but the elder Fluret sibling had been one that she avoided contact with as much as possible.

With a quick shake of her head, she cleared her thoughts of the past and returned to the present. She quickly slipped her violet shirt on first and then her pants, leaving just her heels and the thin lilac scarf the last of all to don before she was totally ready to step out into the world once again.

Perhaps it was a dereliction of her duties, but she cast only a single glance of dread at the flashing screen of her computer before jogging off down to her car. As much as the staff needed direction, everything had been set in place by the king himself for the upcoming party and the king had personally requested for her to fetch the flowers. She would have the next several weeks to catch up on her duties before Noctis's wedding, surely there would be no great disaster that would result in her waiting a few more hours after her already late start this morning. And even if the entire citadel suffered some massive breakdown, she would work from dawn, dusk, and beyond to make sure that everything was accomplished. 

She slid into the seat and clicked the motor into gear, speeding out onto the streets of Insomnia almost as fast as the speed that she arrived at this morning. Her car roared past the protective barrier of the wall with a hum of the motor and a press of her foot against the pedal. Her every sense was hyper alert for the threat of danger, but despite her normal cautious habits, she couldn't deny there was a certain thrill in driving like this as she soared through the barely crowded highway with her target in mind.

Soon enough she spotted the mountainous regional landscape that marked the entrance to her target and Her tires crunched against the ground as she steered off the highway and up the incline of the land towards one specific cave, the rocky outcrop a jagged terrain of jutting spikes and thick boulders that required quick reflexes to avoid a fiery crash.

She pulled to a stop between two boulders of equal size and shape that bore a stark resemblance to the back of Clarus Amicitia bald head, flipped the gear into park, and raised up in her seat to retrieve her black canvas backpack full of supplies for every kind of situation that was a remaining habit of her Crownsguard training and set off inside the yawning dark maw of the cave. 

The cave itself and the rosemary within was another lingering product of her Crownsguard training that had turned out to be more fortunate in nature. A training mission gone awry when she had found herself lost in the rocky outskirts of Insomina with a broken compass, the cave had yielded shelter and surprisingly been lacking in the small violet skinned, sharp clawed Imps that normally frequented dark areas such as these, making it a prized combo in sync with the valuable rare species of herb.

Within the space of an hour, Vassa retrieved a bouquet of the tiny purple flowers clenched tight in her fist as she climbed her way back out of the cave when a low thumped noise registered along the edges of her hearing. One that quickly turned into a deep but fast paced whumpa-whumpa that roared through the skies like the hungry growl of thunder on the horizon. When the lip of the cave loomed on the horizon and split into the familiar sky above, she tilted her neck back and gazed up at the sky in shocked bewilderment. Airships, hundreds of bulky airships were dropping many of the Empire's strongest soldiers on the city by the thousands. She could hear the faint screams of the people along with the fire of magic and weapons echoing like the whispers of fate. Smoke and ash curled up from Insomina itself as building after building fell and the entire city itself became a battleground. 

She couldn't stop the shuddering gasp that ripped free from her throat, or the savage claws of grief that raked through her chest and left weeping trails of anger in their wake as hot tears dripped from the corners of her eyes while the last remaining shards of the protective magical wall that had gated Insomnia for so long slowly disappeared into dust as the invading forces of the Imperial army surged forth with renewed strength, attacking the one tallest building that stood for the king himself with all the vigor they possessed.

Insomnia, and it's king, was falling.


	4. Chapter 4 ~ The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step and a fist

With the shock of the smoke filled city of Insomina in her sights, Vassa rushed to her car with her heels clicking against the stones. Her hand reached out and jerked open the rear door of her car with the intention of storing her backpack and the flowers inside, but instead of the empty area that she had been expecting, it contained a folded set of Crownsguard attire topped with a single small cream colored envelope bearing her name in a swirled, yet slanted script. All sitting quiet neatly and tucked away in a corner of the seating that would not have been obvious to her previously till she was now in position. 

"Uncle Regis, what did you do?" She whispered softly into the air itself as she laid the Rosemary flowers gently down on the seating and reached for the envelope with a shaky hand. The paper was thick and crisp in her hands as she unfolded the envelope with careful fingertips, the particular heavy stationary lightly embossed with the grinning skull and feathered winged insignia that was the royal seal of Lucis was one that her uncle used for only the highest of important communications. 

_My dearest Vassa,_

_I had hoped to the very depths of my soul that these items and this message would never reach your eyes, but if you are reading this, then I can assume that my worst fears have come true._

_It was foretold to me long ago from the Kings of Yore that my son would be the one true king, as wayward that he may be, I wanted him to experience a full life before time would call upon him with duties that he could not avoid. My thanks in part goes to you along with Gladiolus, Prompto, and Ignis for helping show him that life. I knew not how the whims of fate would began about taking this journey, but I can only assume that it was a bloody one and that I have fallen. Please do not cry for me Vassa, because to join the Kings of Yore would only be a blessing to this old tired body and not a curse. My wish would only have been to protect all of you younger ones from the fickle whims of fate that is sure to follow. But alas, it was not to be._

_My dear, you are a beautiful young lady, both courageous and strong, that I have had the honor of watching grow up alongside my own son. I love you and thank you for your loyal service to me and for being the daughter I never had by birth, but you are most certainly my daughter in my heart. With this in mind, I selfishly ask of you one last task._

_My final request of you is that I ask not for you to guide my son in his path, but to merely remain at his side. However, a word of warning is that once you set forth, the past cannot be erased._

_Laying underneath the resting place of this letter is a set of Crownsguard Fatigues made with your own style in mind. In addition to the Crownsguard Fatigues commissioned for Gladiolus, Prompto, and Ignis. I asked the royal tailors to create a set to your specifications as well. I hope they are suitable to you._

_Set forth with my blessing and the grace of the Astrals. I hope you find what you seek most in life._

_Walk tall, Vassa_

_King Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII_

Tears as hot as the blood of the Infernian Astral god dripped from her eyes and onto the letter in her hands, the artfully composed script smearing into a mishmash of blackened ink and dampened paper as she lowered the letter in favor of scrubbing her hands over her eyes. He knew, damn it. The king knew he was going to die and had sent her out so that she would avoid being caught in the fray. She lifted her teary eyed gaze to the battle torn city, the squeezing bands of anger and sorrow wringing every drop of emotion from heart as guilt plagued her like the weight of years for not being able to defend her city and her king from the intruders like she had sworn she would.

It was with that heavy weight of guilt that she turned to view her uncle's final gift. With gentle hands, she unfolded the small bundle of protective attire. Contained within was a hip length black leather jacket cut three quarters in the sleeves and decorated with silver zippers running horizontally from the base of the hem to end level with her breasts, a cream colored shirt sheared short at the sleeves with the neckline scooped into a lavender ribbon trimmed v-neck, a set of fitted black leather pants that matched her jacket, and a pair of knee length high heeled black leather boots emblazoned with a row of tiny silver skull button closures that ran the length of the inside leg were all tucked neatly together. The final remaining item was something smaller that she nearly missed as it had been tucked between the folds of the shirt, a pair of buttery soft fingerless leather gloves in a creamy ink color.

Vassa looked down at the skin of her fingers and palms. The rough surface rippled with small water filled blisters that erupted when her stress levels were at their highest was another factor in the long listing of faults that she had about herself. In a strange way, she had almost become used to the glances and whispers that she had received at the Citadel when her fingers would be wet from the sticky seeping liquid when the blisters popped, but there was nothing she could do except treat the blisters to the best of her ability and lower her stress which never stayed lowered for long. She had always admired Ignis's gloves and had been tempted to buy her own self a pair, but the desire had always slipped through the cracks as she became involved with some other factor that needed her attention. These gloves would go a long way in keeping the curious glances at bay. 

"Thank you, Your Grace." She whispered into the air as she slipped off her heels and pulled on the boots, removing the extendable dagger from the waistband of her bra and tucked it into the shaft of her left boot. Her training commander while in the Crownsguard had informed her that it never hurt to have at least one non-magical weapon on her person at all times. She had not had the occasion to fully test that advice as of yet, but it had always seemed like a good idea to her.

She had just returned her shirt into place when she heard the distinctive whirl thump of steps, but not just any steps. It was the distinctive thud of metal making contact with the solid rock-packed ground below. A sound too unique to be mistaken for anything else, she pivoted slowly on one heel to face the whirling hunks of Magitek machinery disguised as soldiers slowly advancing around her in a semi circle motion with their guns drawn. They watched her all with silent expressions on their greenish faces, her eyes instantly flashing over the weakest points of their armor in silent anticipation of her next move.

"If you truly think for one moment that I will bow down to you pathetic hunks of machinery, then you are sorely mistaken!" She didn't truly know if the MT's truly understood speech, but she didn't give them time to register her words as she summoned her throwing blades in her hands, diamond shaped small knives the length of her palm that fitted perfectly in the spaces between her fingers like lethal claws, the blades could split a hair thrown up in the air and had no trouble finding the weaker junction points in their armor that she had already pinpointed thanks in part to her training. 

Vassa charged forward, plunging the blades in her right hand directly into the first MT's neck. Orange sparks and misty dark miasma leaked on contact from the neck junction where her blades had pierced completely through. The built in firearms of the others were immediately on her heels, the fiery trails of scorching hot bullets scalding the skin against her back with the sheer heat of their near miss, but she avoided the full impact of the lethal blows by flipping herself around behind the soldier she had just impaled through the neck and using the malfunctioning body as a shield before it too melted into a pool of miasma.

At first, the remaining squadron of seven MTs seemed confused to fire upon one of their own, but with a single arch of her arm, three more were rendered useless by her blades thrown swiftly into their weak spots. The hunks of metallic armor fell to their knees with a blade each embedded in junction between their neck and chest armor while the remaining four advanced now with lethally sharp swords now drawn and in hand. 

A reckless smile creased the corners of Vassa's lips as she cartwheeled over the rocky ground, ending in a flip that both dodged the first MT's downswipe and impaled it's waist junction on her heel. The second MT charged forward, the blade of it's sword whistling just inches from her head, but she used the moment from her forward flip to launch herself up into a twisting roundhouse kick that knocked the MT's head clean from it's shoulders. Recalling her blades, the last two MTs fell mid charge as she finished the kicking motion with another fury of blades released from her hands. The entire motion was finished within seconds, a brutal fight that left Vassa panting and a light sheen of sweat coating her skin as she slowly paused and reflected on the damage she had wreaked, dismissing the blades with a flick of her hand now that the MT's were now destined for the scrap heap as they were nothing more than a series of spare parts melting into dark liquid puddles of miasma that slowly vanished into the air. 

The rumbling growl of car tires roaring across the rocky landscape, the approaching black sedan was one that was familiar to her, as was the two figures sitting in the front seats. The driver being a slightly aged older man with dark framed wire rimmed glasses and a fringe of dark hair ringing the base of his balding head named Dustin Ackers, and the passenger was a mature woman with sandy brown hair rapidly turning grey bobbed off short around her ears and kind but stern brown eyes creased tightly in a determined grimace named Monica Elshett. Both her direct superiors in the Crownsguard and some of the most highly skilled agents in that branch of service, her small smile grew even wider as the car rumbled to a stop and she saw the smaller dark head of Iris Amicitia, Gladio's baby sister, alongside Jared and his grandson Talcott Hester sitting on the opposite of her. The rear door in front of Iris open up and the normally cheery girl reached out and waved her hand in a urgent wave to take shelter. "Vassa, come on! We've got to go!"

Vassa cast a quick glance behind her to see that her car was shot up by the MT's bullets that she had been fortunate enough to dodge, the silver paint riddled with gaping black holes like a blistering black rash had suddenly swept over the entire form and had even spread down to the now flattened tires, rendering it completely useless for driving. "Just a second!" She called out, dashing over to the ruined automobile to reach inside and removed her new set of fatigues, King Regis's final note, and the Rosemary flowers that all had miraculously made it through the battle unharmed. She ran to the car with the items clasped tight to her chest, sliding into the seat next to Iris and closing the door with a quick jerking slam. "Floor it!" She said to Dustin as the next wave of MT's dropped from an airship soaring overhead. Their metallic bodies hit the desert floor with a powerful impact as they refolded themselves upright from their feet first landing position with weapons drawn and ready to attack. A cloud of bone colored dust raised beneath the screaming tires as Dustin gunned the motor into gear and the car sailed away into the horizon, quickly leaving behind the approaching threat as a spray of gunfire echoes close enough behind that Jared quickly tucks his young grandson into his lap.

As the distance grew longer and the remains of Insomnia grew smaller in the distance, only once it was safe enough to roll down the windows did Vassa lift her hand in the air and outside the window. Her palm and fingers carefully cupped around the tiny purple blossoms that had started it all as she slowly released them to the air above. "Astrals above us," She whispered softly while the petals trailed through her fingers on the breeze, leaving a winged purple trail floating behind in the dust stirred up by the car. "Please watch over and keep us all safe. Watch over Noctis, Gladio, Prompto, and Ignis till we can meet again. We are going to need your help if we can pass through this cursed nightmare. Take care of Uncle Regis and tell him I said goodbye. Amen."

Her face was somber as she watched the last of the petals slip through her fingers before she leaned back in her seat. With her destination unknown but in the companionship of her friends, her next task would start anew the next time they pulled to a stop.

She had the next king of Lucis to find.


	5. Chapter 5 ~ Shopping for Breakfast and Crushes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chap is kind of awkward. It's been through so many edits that it's not even funny. Things will get better soon, promise. ;)
> 
> Also I had originally planned for this work to have shorter but more detailed chapters.... this one is sitting at around 7000 words by my last count... so I guess that's out the window too.

"Thank you so much for choosing the Leville Hotel and we hope you enjoy your stay." The smile on the desk clerk's face couldn't be described as anything less than cheerfully pleasant as he dropped the small metal key into Vassa's awaiting palm. It had felt like ages since this morning when she had woke up in Noctis's apartment, and she could feel every ounce of exhaustion weighing down on her frame like a heavy blanket. Flashing a grateful smile, she bid the clerk goodnight and trudged up the elegant carved staircase to her assigned quarters. 

On the third floor and the fifth door on the left, she found her room easily enough sandwiched between Iris's to the right and Jared and Talcott's across the hall. With her key in hand, the silver metal glimmered brightly against her dusk caked hand as she unlocked the door with a quick twist of her wrist. Inside was a typical room for one at the hotel, teal painted walls bearing small art generic floral art prints hanging on the walls between the cylindrical wall lamps. A single bed with green and white striped blankets occupied the majority of the right wall while a small square tv sat on a table across from the bed. A tan shuttered door led out onto the wrought iron fenced balcony beyond the bed. Adjacent to the room on the left was a small bathroom complete with a bathtub. 

"Home sweet home." She murmured to herself as she closed and locked the door behind her, quickly allowing her heavily packed backpack to slide from her shoulders and land on the bed with a muffled thump. She was tired and sore from the journey, but her fingers were quickly moving to unzip and unpack what belongings she needed while trying to dislodge as little of the dirt coating from her skin as possible. Their flight to Lestallum hadn't been an easy one, plagued mostly by random flights of the empire's airships frequently dropping MT's at random. The majority of which met a swift and sharp end. She could feel the coating of dust, grime, and the lingering trace of miasma coating her skin like oil, and the blood crusted scrapes across her knuckles stung severely with every flex of her hand and fingers. Impractical it may be given the current circumstances, but she was going to have a long, hot soak in the hotel's bathtub before plotting her next movements. 

With a careful precision, she laid out the gift of new attire along with a spare set of underclothes, only missing the final and the most precious of all, her bottle of jasmine and sylleblossom scented soap that was still rumbling around somewhere in the depths of her backpack. She scowled lightly, her lower lip tugging through her teeth as she reached her hand into the very bottom of the backpack and searched around with wriggling fingers. Where was it? It should have been in here. When her fingers met the bottom of the fabric once again, she couldn't resist letting out a loud groan of irritation. "Where is it? It couldn't have grown legs and walked off."

Finally, on the third try, her fingers encountered the smooth rounded plastic bottle containing her desired soap and she pulled it out with a victorious yelp. "Found you!" Nestled securely in her palm, the hourglass curved clear plastic bottle provided a direct glance inside at the slightly yellow-greenish thick liquid that was similar in appearance to olive oil, but was her favorite scent ever since she was a small girl.

Now, with the final item now in hand. Vassa paced over to the small bathroom and kicked the door closed with her heel, neatly lining up her fresh clothing on a small table next to the sink before she caught sight of herself in the mirror and winched. Yeah... she looked about as bad as she felt. A large reddish bruise about the size of her palm was blooming across her left cheek from she had smacked her head against the unforgiving surface of a sharp rock while trying to avoid an MT's blow. A second darker mark peeked out from under the neckline of her shirt, becoming an almost violet purple before it faded beneath the hem of the fabric. Based on the way that her body was aching and stiff, it was going to be fun shedding her clothes before she slipped into that heavenly warm water that was just waiting to be poured into the tub.

Well... scratch the heavenly warm part. 

When she twisted the water faucet to the hottest setting and tested the water with her fingertips, a wavering stream of icy cold water froze her flesh on contact and absorbed the feeling right from her fingertips. "Well, shit. Did this have to be cursed by Shiva herself?" Vassa twisted and fumbled with the knob again, settling on beating the wall with her fist before the water finally started warming up enough that it could reasonably be described as tepid. Settling the stopper into place, a thin tendril of steam started to curl in the air as the water slowly heated and she moved on to the next portion of the ordeal. Undressing. 

"It's not going to be that bad. Like ripping a bandage off." She quietly mumbled to herself as she slipped her glasses off her face and laid the fragile frames safely off to the side. A hiss of pain crept through her tightly clenched teeth as she raised her arms and grasped the hem on her shirt, originally intending to pull the fabric over her head till a white hot pain of overstretched muscle lanced through her ribcage. Still she pulled steadily till the fabric popped free and left her artfully bruised torso exposed to the chill of the air. Her thighs and legs weren't much better, all muscles burning in protest at each little movement till she could slip into the warmth of the water and sighed as the aches and pains started to soothe away in a cloud of sweet smelling perfume. This was perfect and just what she needed to relax.

Apparently someone else had a different idea.

_~I wanna ride my chocobo all day~_

"Shit!" Vassa let out a small scream of surprise as her phone suddenly starting blaring the chocobo theme song, her arms and legs failing as she splashed around, trying to find her footing against the slippery surface and climb out. The floral scented water splashed out onto the flooring as she slung one leg over the side and gained her footing only to lose it as she flopped ungracefully on the floor like a landed fish still on the hook. "Hold it a minute!" She hissed while scrambling to her feet, leaving a Vassa-sized puddle of water on the floor as she dripped her way to the phone, not even taking time to glance at the flashing number before swiping her thumb across the screen to answer. This had better not be a telemarketer trying to sell her car insurance. "Hello?" 

"Vassa! Guess what?" Iris's chirpy voice sounded from the other end of the line. "I just talked to Gladdy a few minutes ago, and guess what! The boys are totally okay and on their way here! Actually, they should be here within the next thirty minutes or so."

"That's great." She shifted the phone onto her ear as she loped back to the bathroom. "Give me a few minutes and I'll meet you downstairs to wait for them." Giving a quick glance down her body and noticing the various scratches and bruises littering her skin, she sighed. "Better make it fifteen. I've got to finish cleaning up before I come down."

"No problem, see ya in a bit." 

With her phone still handy this time in case someone else called, she returned to what was left of her now cold bath before performing a little med work on herself, mainly hissing through her teeth every time she swiped the antiseptic across each new cut and scrape. It would have been super helpful to have a potion right about now, but since she had used her last one in waiting for a training mission a few weeks ago, she just had to steel herself to bear it. 

Once she was completely finished and still mumbling only slight curses under her breath, she slipped into her new attire and wished she could thank the royal tailors in person, if they still lived that is. The silk shirt fit her perfectly, and the pants were the perfect length to hit right at the tops of her feet, no tripping hazard here except for the normal danger of her own two feet. The dark jacket quickly followed, as did her gloves, scarf, and boots until she was fully dressed in her new attire.

She looked in the mirror as she pulled up her still slightly damp strands into the backup scrunchie she had stashed in her backpack for emergencies, winching slightly at the dark circles that underlined her dark eyes and the pale cast to her skin. Not to mention the slight plum colored bruise peeking above her cheek. Yep, she still looked like a walking corpse instead of a normal 20 year old, but it would have to do.

Emerging from her room to venture into the hallway, she was fully intending on walking down the staircase to join Iris in the lavishly decorated lobby when a strangely delicious scent caught her nose. She tilted her head back and sniffed lightly, catching the unmistakable scent of Ignis's special seasonings simmering on a stove. The slightly spiced, yet crsip aroma was quickly growing stronger the further she walked down the hall and the first stands of four familiar voices tugged at the edges of her hearing from behind a locked door before she raised her hand and tapped her fingers against the entrance.

There was a shuffling and a beep, someone slowly approaching the door from the opposite side as the door opened with a small squeak. Standing there was his royal highness himself, blue eyes trained down on the phone in his hand, scruffy dark hair in even more of a spiky disarray than normal with a few small green leaves woven in for effect, a smudge of dirt on both cheeks that extended down to his dusty clothing. With a lazy flick of his eyes, Noctis's glanced up at Vassa's face and gave a lazy smirk. "Hey, Shadow. I take it you met a few MT's along the way too because you look like a Cactur that's been beat up a few times."

"Noct! That is certainly not an appropriate way to greet someone!" Ignis's scolding was accompanied by the sight of the advisor's scowling face peeking out from around the corner of a small alcove off to the left side of the room, presumably the kitchenette based on the wreath of steam that also swirled around his head like a visible aura of his cooking skills. "Much less a loved one."

"It's okay, Iggy. Noct looks like a Sabertusk's chew toy himself." Vassa returned fire with a quick little smirk of her own that sent the other occupant of the room into a fit of rib shaking giggles. Prompto held his hand to his mouth, his slender shoulders shaking with the effort to not burst out loud in laughter while his blue eyes gleamed with his suppressed humor. Noctis looked to be on the verge of a scathing reply himself when she took advantage of his momentary lull to pull him into a quick hug. "I'm glad you all are okay, I was worried about you." Here she paused and whispered just a little bit softer. "I'm so sorry about Uncle Regis. He will be missed." 

"Thanks." Noctis awkwardly mumbled as he patted her shoulder with arms so stiff that they could have passed for steel beams. It wasn't but a moment longer before he started the slippery twisting movements to slither out of her grasp, quickly wriggling himself free so that he could sit on the edge of the opposite bed and return to his phone that still beeped with whatever game he had been playing beforehand. Vassa paused for a moment, waiting as Ignis returned to his cooking before flashing a quick conspirial wink at Prompto and sharply slapping her hand against the back of Noctis's head. The reaction was immediate, drawing a sharp hiss of pain from the young king's lips as he clutched one hand to the back of his head. "What the hell was that for?" He hissed while Prompto cackled out loud this time. 

She plopped herself down on the bed beside Noctis, quickly casting a glance towards Ignis to ensure that he hadn't caught the threads of the change in conversation before returning to her now sullenly glaring cousin. "How could you leave that note out right there in the open? What if Ignis had come back and seen it? Do you know how embarrassed I would have been?"

"Don't worry about it. Specs saw nothing, he was already downstairs packing up the car." Noctis glanced back down at his game, the flashing lights and chirping sounds drawing him back into his own virtual world once again. "I still say you should tell him." His lips barely moved as he spoke, an intense light of concentration glowing sharply in his eyes as his thumbs started dancing across the screen. 

"Don't pay any attention to him. He's just grumpy because he lost out on being the first one to shower." Prompto scooted closer to the edge of the bed and lowered his voice to an conspiratorial whisper. "I promise, my favorite Chocobuddy's secret is still safe."

"Thanks so much, PomPom." She popped across and slung her arms around the slender blonde's shoulders for a friendly hug that he eagerly returned. Prompto's hug was just as infused with sunshine as he was, an excited tangle of arms wrapped around her neck that also threatened to cut off her air supply but was so sweet in his enthusiasm to see his friend that she hated to break free, but her ability to breathe was still quite necessary for her so she did. "Where is Gladio? I thought I heard him talking before Noct opened the door?" She asked once she regained her breath.

"Follow the trail of steam." Noctis hiked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing towards the small closed door placed just behind the kitchenette that was slowly leaking a cloud of steam through the crack at the floor. "And you'll find the hot water sucking behemoth in his natural habit." 

"Gotcha," She knew that Gladio had a tenacity to use the hottest water imaginable in his showers till the whole room would look like a sauna, and woe be to the next person after he showered if they should desire any hot water because they sure weren't going to get it. "I'm gonna go talk to Iggy for a minute, be right back." 

"Okay, I've got a couple shots from Galdin Quay that you're gonna love. It'll just take me a minute to find them." Emerging from his pocket was the familiar silver and black camera that was one of Prompto's most beloved possessions and his fingers started clicking against the buttons as he cycled through the camera's memory. 

Stepping to her feet, she followed the richly scented trail into the small kitchen where the third member of the party was intensely concentrated on the pot of simmering soup he was slowly stirring clockwise. "Hey, Iggy. How are you?" She didn't know why, but she shyly started to life her arms in anticipation of giving a hug when the advisor quickly produced his free hand for her to shake in greeting. Ignis had never been one for PDA, she had known that for years even though she was a hugger to those that she was close to. So she tried to keep the hurt from her spurned advance out of her expression by pasting on a quick smile and accepting his offered greeting with a firm shake while also casting a searching gaze across his features. Good, no hint of linger aversion or the recent memory of her drooling on his shoulder either. Perhaps lady luck was on her side after all and Ignis would forget about her most recent embarrassing moment. 

"Vassa, It is wonderful to see that you arrived safely and mostly unharmed I see." Ignis spared her a quick glance, his eyes lingering particularly over the large bruise on her cheek. "We do have an availblity of potions if you should desire one."

"Thanks, but I'm okay. What's cooking?" 

"It's my Veggie Medley Stew made with the remaining assortment of fresh ingredients that we had collected shortly before arriving here." 

Leaning over to properly glance at the contents, she saw the creamy sheep's milk base was boiling softly while the thick pale chunks of Funguar mushrooms and plump rounds of Leiden Potato rounds bobbed around in the simmering broth. A few large carrots had been chopped into smaller pieces along with a several leaves of a green similar that appeared to be similar to spinach but was most likely a comparable ingredient that Ignis's had substituted. She glanced up at Ignis with a question in her eyes, folding her hands across her chest while leaning her hip against the corner of the wall. "Not that I'm complaining because it smells great and I'm sure it will taste as good as it looks, but do you really think that Noct's gonna eat that?" She whispered as she darted a glance towards the vegetable hating person in question sitting in the opposite room.

"He will if he wishes to eat. I have hidden our other supplies in places that will take his highness quite a bit of effort to find if he should undertake one of his midnight munching expeditions."

Vassa watched Ignis for a moment, the casual stirring motions of his hand towards the bubbling stew easily disguising an alternative motive, but she knew something was up when Ignis started hiding the food from the king of the nighttime snacks. "Noctis ate your last slice of Chiffon Cake, didn't he ?"

The barest hint of a smile creased the corners of his lips as he continued to stir twice more. "My lips are sealed as to the true inspiration for tonight's dinner. However, if you could be so kind as to hand me the plates, I do believe the stew is ready to be served."

Two things happened when Vassa turned around to retrieve the set of tin plates the boys used while traveling. One was that a pair of large and slightly damp arms wrapped around her waist as she started to lift the plates up, and second was that she screamed very loudly while a deep voice roughly chuckled in her ear. "Hey, there! How's my favorite pipsqueak?" 

"Gladio, put me down you overgrown giant!" Vassa laughed while she swatted playfully at Gladio's chest with her hands, her feet dangling a few inches off the ground. Including the height difference that didn't even touch Gladio's particularly favorite hobby of teasing people, he had a rather bad habit of lifting people off the ground when engulfed in one of his bear hugs, which also unfortunately resulted in her feet leaving the ground by a foot or two anytime Gladio decided to pick her up. 

"Going down? Gotcha, V." Gladio chuckled while did as he was asked, earning himself another swat on the arm before she handed the plates to a lightly chuckling Ignis so that he could begin to ladle out the stew. Once served and seated with plates carefully balanced on laps, and a disgusted snarl from Noctis at the sight of his mortal enemy, Vassa was about to sit down beside Prompto on the bed with her own meal when she caught Gladio's eye and the wry smile across his scarred face as he studied her figure up and down. "You're in Crownsguard fatigues?"

"You like them?" She gave an experimental supermodel turn to demonstrate her new attire to the boys. "And check out the shoes. Awesome, am I right?" Noctis grumbled something that may have been a response or a groan while Prompto snapped a quick shot of her new attire.

"Hey, Ig. Vassa looks nice in her fatigues, doesn't she." One of Gladio's elbows jostled Ignis none- -too-gently in the ribs as the recipient raised one hand to his glasses and fidgeted with the frames.

"They do flatter her height and body shape quite nicely without any extra play that might cause errors during battle. Another series of suburb craftsmanship from the royal tailors, I would say. However, there is one little thing..." With the slightest hint of a frown, Ignis placed his stew aside on a nearby table before standing up and stepping forward with his hands outstretched, reaching for the area around her neck while a subtle stretch lengthened Vassa's spine so that she could stand just a minute inch taller. With little tidying motions, Ignis rearranged the lay of her scarf atop her jacket, one pointed end having come free till he tucked and smoothed the gauzy fabric into a seamless coil once again. "There, perfect."

"Thank you, Ignis." A shy smile curled the edges of her lips as she nodded her head in thanks. As an old habit for quite some time now, it wasn't uncommon for either one of them to 'fix' something out of place on the other's clothing. An unfolded collar, misaligned scarf, or other object as they went about their daily motions. She allowed her gaze to drift up to his face where she noticed that his glasses had slid halfway down the bridge of his nose. "Oh, here. Let me fix your glasses." Extending a single finger from her left hand, she gentle returned his glasses to their former position, aided slightly by Ignis bending down in order to allow her a slightly easier reach.

"Thank you." Ignis murmured his sincere gratitude for such a small gesture, allowing her to see the slight softening in his eyes that betrayed just how stressed he truly was this far. Unfortunately, Ignis's softened features hardened into his normal stoic expression as he caught sight of Noctis stealthily trying to deposit his stew into the base of one of the fake potted palm trees decorating the room. "Noct! The stew is for your consumption not the plant's!" 

After twenty minutes of Ignis and Noctis arguing over the fate of the stew, Gladio's insistence that Ignis stop treating Noct like a baby, and Prompto trying to persuade Noct to take a bite because it was actually really good. Like anything Ignis cooked wouldn't be delicious and worthy of a gourmet restaurant. Vassa had enough and vanished to her room only to return with the ultimate bargaining chip, a package of gummy Chocobo in six assorted fruit flavors. With the promise of a sweet treat combined with Vassa's soft voiced pleas, Noctis fell into her trap and reluctantly finished every bite of his dinner, much to Gladio's and Prompto amusement as they teased the raven haired royal relentlessly.

Things did not stay so joyful for long as the conversation turned towards the more somber subject of Insomnia's fall and with it, Vassa's escape. Most parts they knew due to Iris's earlier visit before she departed to visit a shop in town that was rumored to sell a rare charm of the white bodied, round faced, and small dark winged creatures known as Moogles that was a favorite of the younger Amicitia, but Vassa explained her portion of the events while they listened attentively and explained their own version of their side of the events. 

They had broke down shortly before reaching the Hammerhead service station which may or may not have involved Prompto's strange incompatibility with automobiles, pushing the Regalia the remaining distance till they reached the service station and meeting both Cid and his granddaughter Cindy who Prompto appeared to be completely smitten with based on the pictures of the slightly greased stained blonde beauty. In need of a few funds, they had performed a few errands for the mechanics while the Regalia was fixed before heading to the lovely resort of Galdin Quay. It was there they had stayed while learning the news of Insomnia's fall before driving to see it themselves from one of the surrounding hills overlooking the city and Noctis received a call from Cor wanting to meet them at Hammerhead. The marshal of the Lucian Crownsguard had then journeyed out to Keycatch Trench to find the Tomb of the Wise and was joined shortly by their party, finding both the tomb and the royal arm, the Sword of the Wise. Thus placed on a path to gather the remaining royal arms and the approval of the Astrals in order to take back what had been stolen by the Empire, dealing with the destruction of as many of the empire's MT's, blockaids, and troublesome behemoth beasts as they could manage along the way. 

The conversation lasted well on into the night till she departed for a few hours of sleep before the morning sun rose again. Finding herself with even darker rings lining the skin under her eyes, clumsy fingers fumbling for the glasses she had no memory of taking off, and the sun streaming through the windows in a poor attempt to cheer her up. She found her glasses about thirty minutes of painful squinting later, laying beneath the edge of the bed where they must have bounced last night before she went to sleep. Shortly after finding them, she was alerted to a series of knocks at the door, the user being Gladio along with Ignis, a bubbly Talcott, and Prompto who invited her along on their morning shopping trip for supplies through the marketplace. Noctis wouldn't be joining as he was still asleep in bed with Iris supervising him till he woke up for his own tour of the city.

That was how she wound up in Partellum Market at dawn, clutching a can of Ebony that Ignis had spared from his own supply like it was her lifeline and watching the bustling market brimming with life pass by. Basically Prompto snapping photos of anything that interested him along the way, which was everything and everyone, Gladio bargaining with a camping supplies dealer over the price of a six pack of fuel canisters for a camping stove, and Ignis demonstrating to Talcott on how to properly chose the correct marbling on a Garula Sirloin while being drooled on by a slender woman with her own shopping bag who was trying to engage Ignis in some sort of conversation.

That last scene had caused the Ebony to nearly clog in her throat.

"Iggy, the lady was flirting with you." An irresistible teasing smile lit Gladio's scarred face up like the morning sky above as he sauntered over with the fuel held in his arms.

However, Ignis remained as stoic as ever, smoothing a hand down the lapel of his jacket as he directed a no nonsense glare at the shield. "Nonsense, Gladio. She was simply asking for tips on how to properly prepare a Garula Sirloin for her anniversary dinner." Needless to say that Gladio was rolling his eyes at that excuse. "Now, shall we continue on?"

 _Yeah, right. Iggy. Tell that to the woman who was a drooling pool of hormones at your feet_ is what Vassa wanted to say but she didn't. Her jaw was stiff from where her teeth had been grinding against one another, but she forced the frozen muscles into a well-practiced polite grin while she trailed along behind the older guys and the excitably skipping Talcott. It wasn't but merely a moment later when Prompto then called her attention to one very large feature of the marketplace. A beautiful fountain carved of white marble with a three sectioned tiered levels for the water to cascade down in the shape of an upturned bowl and ended with a small ball shaped spout at the top. It was simple and elegant, a sparkling beauty for all to see, but there was something about the glimmer in Prompto's eyes that had an instant wariness springing to life.

"V! I've got an awesome idea for a great shot! Can you stand on the edge of the fountain and pose for me?" 

She glanced around at the surroundings, a few people milled around in various states of eating, shopping, and generally going about their morning duties as normal while they were certainly not paying attention to the newcomers to Lestallum. One of which was Gladio who was leaning on a fruit and vegetable seller's counter and heavily flirting with the young woman inside while Ignis was lecturing an attentive Talcott on the usefulness of a plump Lucian Tomato vs. the more formidable Killer Tomato. No one seemed to be paying any attention if she made a fool of herself, but then again... "PomPom, I don't think so. I can't-"

"Come on, you'll be the perfect model. Please?" Vassa could feel herself wavering at Prompto's plea, and then it happened. Prompto's big blue eyes turned round and slightly watery with unshed tears, a single pearlescent droplet threatening to erupt and trace down his freckled cheeks. His lower lip protruded slightly and gave the faintest hint of a tremor, the final blow to her already crashing wall. Perhaps the Astrals would grant her this favor today and she wouldn't embarrass herself just yet

"Okay, fine. Where do you want me?" She blew out a long breath as a sigh, trying and failing to ignore Prompto's whoops of joy as he directed her to stand on the very edge of the fountain. The smooth edge was slippery to say the least, her balance threatening to be lost at any given moment with boots squeaking against the water soaked stone. His hands poked and prodded her into position, always careful to make sure that she was steady before drawing back to line up the shot.

"Prompto, what are you doing with V up there?" She heard Gladio's questions as he ambled over. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, one dark eyebrow raised in question while he waited for an answer.

Any reply that Prompto had already started to make was quickly overrun by Ignis's quick scolding. "Vassa, get down from there before you fall and injure yourself!" Ignis scowled, a new bag brimming full with supplies carried in one hand. 

His warning went unnoticed as Prompto's quick voiced encouragement provided Vassa with a little zing of excitement. "That's the way! Turn your hip to the left a little bit! Vogue it for me, V!" The flash of the camera was going on in intermittent bursts, Promto's body twisting this way and that like a bouncing spring as he moved from a crouch to stand up fully and any position in between in search of the perfect angle for each shot. "Atta girl! You're beautiful!"

The bubble of an unexpected laugh at Prompto's enthusiasm rippled free from her throat as she pulled her lips even wider in a charming smile, reaching a hand behind her head to pull out the scrunchie from her hair and quickly ruffle the dark layers into a model worthy 'do. A particular pose came to mind that she had seen recently on the cover of some magazine laying around the Citadel, and the shaky sense of recklessness that was surging through her veins grew even stronger. Raising her right leg up into a simple arch, she planted it forward on the slippery rim of the fountain like she had originally been caught mid strut. Her right arm went back to prop on her pushed out hip while she extended her left arm straight up like she was reaching for the sky, fingers and palm fully extended to the max to catch a strand of the sun's bright rays. She tilted her head back to rest against her shoulders, peering in what was supposed to be a seductive manner through her glasses even through the frames were covered in fat water droplets that distorted everything into roundish blobs. 

"Holy crap! That's awesome V! Hold that pose!" The bouncing Prompto blob wiggled and jiggled along the edge of her vision, the camera's flashing light dancing off the water droplets on her lends and momentarily blinding her with the bright light. A deep burning ache started to spread from the tips of her toes to her thighs, a terrible cramp at having to stand in such a position for an extended period that was quickly taking hold with a savage sharpness like a Coeurl's claws. She blinked against the water littering her eyelashes and shifted her weight slightly onto her right leg to relieve some of the pressure, but it was a bad move. Her right foot started slipping off the edge of the fountain. Her eyes went wide with alarm, her lips shifting into a round o as she teetered to try and regain her balance, her arms pinwheeling for balance but her sliding movement was too far gone to be halted.

The others could see it happening before their eyes. Talcott gasped in shock. Prompto raised his focus up from the display screen of his camera to cry out a warning. "V, look out." Gladio was already rushing forward, intending to catch her before she fell, but suddenly found his arms cradling the bag of potions and fragile food ingredients that one particular member of their party had just been holding who was now reaching to catch Vassa on her fall downward.

One moment she was sailing through the air, her arms still pinwheeling in the air to try and halt her headfirst plunge towards the stone pathway below. Then something warm and firm wrapped around her body, one warm strong hand reaching around and behind her back while a second scooped under her knees as she suddenly came within a lethal distance of Emerald eyes blazing with concern. "Vassa, are you injured? Do you need attention?" Ignis's voice rumbled softly from his chest, the vibration traveling up through her hands that had folded themselves around his neck oh-so-naturally. A sudden dryness like the parched desert sand had suddenly bloomed in her mouth and robbed her of speech, so she shook her head in response. "At least you weren't hurt, but do try and refrain from performing any such reckless action as that again." Ignis scolded lightly as he lowered her to the ground, ensuring that she was standing fully on her wobbly legs once more.

Her limbs felt like melted butter, all gluey and uncontrollable, but she managed to shift herself onto her feet and removed her arms from his neck. "T-Thank you, Ignis." She mumbled out finally in something that wasn't a garbled wad of words stuck in her throat. Vassa's fingers tingled with the urge to simply pull her scarf over her face just to hide her face from the strength of his gaze. Once again, she had acted like a total idiot. Why couldn't she just be normal for once?

"Not a problem at all." Ignis reached a gloved hand into the inner pocket of his jacket and smoothly removed a small list inscribed with the remaining items that needed to be bought. "We are still in need of a few items before we return to the hotel, would you be willing to assist me with retrieving the remaining items on the list?"

"Sure. What's missing?" She leaned her head to the side to peer around Ignis's arm, the both of them wandering off in the direction of a nearby spice stall with Talcott quickly catching up and resuming his happy chatter. Gladio snorted with a slight giggle of amusement before starting to amble onward in pursuit of his friends when Prompto's finger tapped his arm lightly.

"Hey, Gladio. Take a look at this." Prompto lifted the camera cradled in his hands so that his larger friend could see the image reflected on the camera's small screen. It was Ignis and Vassa together, gazing into one another's eyes with the lady cradled in her savior's arms like a princess in a fairy tale while a small pastel rainbow had formed behind their backs from the combined overspray of the fountain's mist and the bright rays of sunlight overhead. Gladio let out an appreciative low whistle through his teeth, it was a really romantic shot that any couple would die for.

"You gonna show that to V?" He grumbled.

"Nah, I'm saving the shots like these for their wedding album. Take a look at this one." Prompto started to scroll through another series of pictures with a flicker of the buttons, the screen shifting through a blur of images till it landed on a single image. Gladio remembered it from the previous evening, but he didn't remember it this way. Vassa had fell asleep on Ignis's shoulder, her mouth slightly parted and slack with a tiny drop of drool clinging to her lips while she had her fingers laced around Ignis's bicep in a slight cuddle. The advisor was gazing down at the sleeping girl with an affectionate fondness glowing in his eyes and the hint of a indulgent smile on his lips. 

Prompto clicked a few more buttons and the camera flashed off. "I'm hoping that if V decides to come along with us, it might spark Ignis's brain into realizing it. So me and Noct's got a little bet going on how long it would take for either one of them to come out with it first and whose first. I'm betting five years and Vassa. Noct's betting ten and Vassa. You want in?"

Gladio carefully considered where Ignis and Vassa were bent over discussing some sort of weird knobby spice, their heads pressed together and fully immersed in a deep conversation like an old married couple shopping together. It was kind of sweet actually. Sickeningly sweet, but sweet. "Three years and Ignis." He snapped off without another thought. 

"Really?" Prompto couldn't help looking up at his larger friend in surprise. 

"Prompto, Gladio. Come along. His Highness will be waiting." Ignis's call was made even sharper by the pointed glance cast their way. With a shrug, they both ambled off in the direction of the now firmly scowling advisor.

It wasn't long before the entire party returned to the Leville, arriving just a few moments before Noct and Iris themselves returned. Prompto was the first to actually catch sight of their grumpy, breaking off from his conversation with Talcott to call a cheerful welcome back. "Hey guys, look who's back! Talcott, go on and tell' em what you told me."

"You got it!" The boy smiled, his enthusiasm brimmed bright in his smile with the desire to be useful to his king. 

His grandfather laid a heavy hand on his shoulder in warning. "Oh, come now. Show some respect for your elders."

Prompto's hands immediately popped up with a slight wave. His expression an easy smile that showed no offensive was taking. "Whoa, there. No need to respect me too much. I'm not royalty or anything."

Talcott bobbed his head as he realized his mistake, the slightest tinge of sheepish guilt dimming his smile but it wouldn't fully be extinguished. "So, there's a legend around here that there is a legendary sword hidden nearby behind a waterfall. I thought that it sounded interesting and it might be of some help to you."

Ignis considered the statement for a moment, tapping his fingers twice against his leg before speaking. "There may indeed be some truth to legend as it might be one of the legendary tombs."

Gladio crossed his arms across his chest. "All the more reason that we should check it out." He mumbled gruffly.

"Yeah, for sure." Noctis agreed. "Thanks for the tip, Talcott."

"You're very welcome, Your Highness." The boy bowed eagerly, drawing a giggle from Vassa at his delighted expression.

With a new mission in mind, all four of them turned to leave when she suddenly spoke up with words that had barely tumbled through her brain before they fell from her lips. "Do you guys have room for one more?" She blushed almost as soon as she realized what she said. She shouldn't have asked, they had more important things to do without her tagging along behind.

Noctis turned to glance over his shoulder, a snarky smirk bending his lips upwards as he casually tossed his next words over his shoulder. "Figured you were anyway, Shadow. You don't have to ask. Come on, let's roll."


	6. Chapter 6 ~ New Recipes and Snakes

"Vassa, are you entirely sure you are comfortable sitting there?"

She saw the emerald flash of Ignis's eyes worriedly flash up into the rear-view mirror of the Regalia for a split second before they returned their focus to the lightly curved road that laid ahead. Sitting wedged between Gladio's muscled bulk and Noctis more slender self was almost an mirror image of the landscape they were driving across, the bulky mountainside to the right and the spacious cliffs to her left. "I'm fine, Iggy." She laughed softly, earning a slight sigh from him as she wiggled her hand in a wave. 

The weight of Gladio's arm descended around her shoulders while he leaned over and pressed his forehead alongside hers, a roguish smirk creasing his face as he couldn't resist needling Ignis just a little bit. "What? Are you thinking that we're squishing the pipsqueak because she's so small?" He playfully squished her against his side, earning Prompto's attention as he turned around from the passenger seat and raised his camera up to his eye.

"That's cool, you guys. Give me a big smile!" He said as he raised up on his knees and propped his elbows on the seat to steady himself for the shot. They did, earning a giggle from their photographer before she turned around to see Noct, his elbow propped against the door of the Regalia and his hand supporting his head, fast asleep. 

"Really? You just woke up a little while ago." She muttered to herself. Reaching over, she poked his side with her finger, earning a slight snort for her efforts but it didn't truly wake him. She frowned, wriggling her fingers up and down his arm in an imitation of a spider but the slumbering king slept on. Now she arched an eyebrow, her mind whirling with the possibilities of how best to wake him when she heard the seat creak as Prompto shifted around. 

"Hey guys, how about we pull over for a minute. I gotta use the bathroom." Prompto raised his hand up, pointing to the looming building of the Burbost Souvenir Emporium. They weren't that far outside of Lestallum, a short drive away and she was absolutely sure that she had seen Prompto go before they left, but nature was calling apparently.

Squat and square with the business's name staggered across the front in large block letters, Noctis shifted in his seat and stretched his arms above his head, his jaws parting wide in a yawn. "I could use a drink, my throat is bone dry." He mumbled through sleep heavy lips, his eyes slowly blinking into wakefulness as he glanced at the building laying just ahead. 

She chuckled while Gladio groaned "I guess that's as good as a reason as any for a pit stop."

"Sounds like both a waste of time and money." Ignis's commented as he steered the Regalia to a stop alongside the fuel pumps. A light drizzling rain had started to fall from the grey clouded sky above, the thick clouds looking a ominous dark grey and almost ready to burst at any moment with a powerful downpour that would soak everything in sight. With a quick flick of his silver gloved fingers, the grinding motor of the Regalia's roof rose and clicked into place while the majority of the party got out. 

"Woohoo! Shopping time!" Prompto's raucous cheer was only echoed by his footsteps as he pounded across the pavement in a direct aim towards the Emporium. "Come on, Noct!"

"Right behind you." She watched her cousin chase after the blond in pursuit, not even directing a single glance backwards to see if any of the others were following him. 

"Hey, V." Gladio's gruff grumble caught my attention and she turned to see him lifting the lip of Regalia's fuel tank with one hand and digging in his pocket for a small amount of gil with his other. She heard the jangle of the coins as he rummaged through his pocket until his hand reappeared with the money in his fist, one finger curled up and motioning her to come closer. "Will you do me a favor and buy me a new book? I've read the one I've got like fifteen times already."

"Sure." He dribbled the Gil in my hand and she quickly tucked it away into pocket of her jacket. "Any special requests?"

He shrugged. "Just something good. You know what I like."

"Alrighty then," Leaning down to peck on the door of the Regalia with her knuckle, Ignis was still sitting in the driver's seat with a large paper map now spread across the dash and his phone in his hand with his thumb casually scrolling across the screen. His brows were furrowed sharp into an intense v of concentration, the line of his jaw pulled taut as his eyes intensely flicked over both contents of the map and his phone, radiating slightly with the intense light of his full attention. He blinked twice when she tapped again, his body jolting almost imperceptibly as he emerged from whatever realm of thoughts that he had been held captive by. "Anything for you, Iggy?"

"Just a moment and I will join you." She stepped back from the Regalia as Ignis smoothly tucked his phone away into his jacket and refolded the map precisely along the fold lines before stashing it away in the glovebox of the Regalia. He stepped out with a single motion, providing her with an very appreciative glance of his long legs so nicely fitted by his dark pants. _Whoa! Backup! Mayday! Don't start thinking about Iggy like that. The holy Astrals does he have to smooth out the wrinkles of his shirt like that? Well, crap on a cracker. Now the water is beading up in his hair. This man is going to kill me. I'm going to die as a victim from sheer handsomeness._ "Vassa?"

"Huh?" She snapped out of her thoughts and met his curiously questioning gaze, one eyebrow once again arched as he stared at her with the slightest quirk of his lips tilting upwards in amusement. 

"Are you ready to venture inside and see what damage Noctis and Prompto had caused on the innocent people running this establishment?" Tucking his right elbow out to the side, he offered her his arm for the short walk to the building inside. A gesture that she gladly accepted just so that maybe the embarrassed flush at being caught with her mind wandering down a few secretive paths would try and subside from her cheeks.

"They're two 20 year old guys. They can't possibly cause that much trouble." Her disbelief gave way to a few memories of the past when Noctis and Prompto were left alone in a store. Very, very frightful memories. "We should hurry. The building's not on fire yet."

"Indeed." Ignis nodded in agreement. 

Between both Ignis and herself, they were able to restrict Noctis and Prompto from buying the majority of things that caught their wandering eyes to just the necessities. Except that Prompto did wind up with a pair of toy water guns shaped like the real thing, that may have partially been her fault because she just couldn't say no to his puppy dog face. Ignis had given her a little side eye for that one, but she had found a little something hidden in the small revolving rack of books that would certainly make up for it. Finding a book that met Gladio's approval wasn't hard since she shared similar tastes in reading with him, basically being romance novels, beautiful fantasy, or anything that either of them could get their fingers on. However, she had been pleasantly surprised to see that behind a bodice ripper romance that featured an classically dressed man and woman embracing on the cover was a pocket sized copy of the Iron Shelf Recipes, Vol. 3. It was needlessly to say that she had snatched it off the shelf and rushed to the register while Ignis was busy trying to keep a massive spool of Dragon's Beard fishing line out of their shopping cart that somehow kept mysteriously appearing on their way to the checkout counter. 

Then came the task of sorting the items and packing away what could be used for battle and for other uses.

"8-pack of Hi-Potions." Vassa held up the package of silver and blue energy restoring drinks with one hand.

"In the inventory satchel." Ignis cast a quick glance her way before returning to the items he had spread across the trunk of the Regalia. Feathers the color of the blazing dawn, the energy restorer known as a Phoenix Down was one of the most precious items of their party as it could instantly revive someone from unconsciousness in the heat of battle. Some legends said that it could even bring a person back from death itself. With Ignis sorting the valuable feathers into five neat little rows to be divided among themselves, it was when he was finally finished did he look up and meet her watching eyes. "Was that the final item?"

"Hmm, not quite." She smiled widely, her arms tucked behind her back and firmly hiding the cookbook from his sight before she presented it to him with a slight flourish. "Tah-dah! I found something I think you'll like, Iggy."

"The Iron Shelf Recipes, Vol. 3." He read from across the cover as he gratefully accept the book from her hands with as much grace as if it had been a unique award. "Thank you very much, Vassa. Did you know that was one of the volumes I was missing?"

"I did." Ignis had been collecting volumes of the Iron Shelf series for almost as long as she could remember him cooking for Noctis, so it had become a bit of a running joke between the five of them that whoever found a volume for Ignis was his official taste tester for the first recipe he cooked from it, good or bad. 

"What's that, Ig?" Gladio ambled over from the overlook with his new fantasy novel she had picked out for him tucked under his arm, Noctis and Prompto following shortly behind as they had been waiting before venturing down to the grounds around the supposed location of the Greyshire Grotto, an ice cavern hidden behind the massive waterfall named Callatein's Plunge and was rumored to contain a hidden tomb. "Looks like you've got a new cookbook."

"Great. Maybe Specs can start cooking something without beans in it." Noctis smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ya know, some of us actually like beans so get over it, Prince Picky." Vassa crinkled her nose and squished her face into a teasing pout.

"That's King Picky to you." Noct volleyed back, stepping forward to stand face to face with Vassa. 

"Really? That suits you. The King of the vegetable haters."

"Oh, yeah? What about-" Whatever Noct had started to say was quickly cut off as Ignis's snapped his fingers in the air and closed the book with a firm snap.

"That's it! I've come up with a new recipe!" Ignis proudly proclaimed to the air as he tucked his cookbook under the shelter of his arm and pulled out his black leather bound notebook from the interior of his jacket, quickly taking note of whatever idea had suddenly possessed him. Both her and Noctis physically jumped backwards a few inches after Ignis had shouted, earning themselves the rib shaking laughter of Prompto and Gladio who were both bent double in the effort to contain their amusement. Two sets of sullen glares, one lucian blue and one stormy grey, was thrown their way before they too started to chuckle at the ridiculousness of it all, Vassa being the main one to laugh while Noctis gave a light chuckle and a brief twerk of his lips before starting to gather up his portion of the healing supplies that Ignis had sorted.

"Well, that's that. It's time to go." The king said while stuffing his pockets full of items. Gladio and Prompto both agreeing as they shook off the remains of their laughter and retrieved their portion as well, the latter still chuckling slightly. She had started to walk over and join them when she felt a hand reach down and snag hers. Vassa glanced over her shoulder in surprise, her eyes widening slightly to see that it was Ignis who had stopped her, whose fingers were now gently holding her's captive. 

"Please forgive me for the unwarranted interruption, but I did desire to fully express my gratitude for the gift. It was extremely thoughtful of you given the current circumstances and I do appreciate it very much indeed." 

As poetic as ever, Ignis's sincere praise never failed to bring a scarlet blush to her face and this time was no different. It felt like her entire face was aflame with Ifrit's own flames. Her own eyes dropped to the ground, unable to maintain contact with his own as her free hand came up to nervously fiddle with the circled rim of her scarf. "It's nothing that special Iggy, I just wanted you to have it in case your other collection got... you know. And you do have to feed this pack of starving beasts and I figured that you could use the inspiration."

Ignis chuckled warmly, a deep warm sound that was as comforting as the delicious food he crafted. "That image is oddly correct, Vassa. However, there is another reason that I did wish to speak with you." Here his voice dipped lower along with his gaze to her cheek where the violet remnants of the bruise still stained her skin like an unwanted swipe of paint. For a moment, her breath caught in her chest as he seemed about to raise his hand and gently touch the afflicted area, but Ignis merely released her hand with a small sigh and lifted his gaze back to meet her eyes. "I do apologize for neglecting your condition last evening and again this morning. You were injured and I failed to even provide you with a potion to heal your bruises. If something were to happen to you due to my negligence-"

"Ignis, it's okay. Please don't apologize for something that is not your fault." The words stuck in her throat like glue as she softly cut him off from any further blame that he was placing on himself. She knew that he would guilt himself to death if she didn't put a stop to it. Making sure to look him directly in the eye, she wanted him to take note of what she said next. "You asked me if I wanted a potion last night, I said no. As ugly as they are, they are just bruises and a few scrapes. Nothing serious or anything that would inhibit my duties to protect Noctis. So it's okay. I'm fine, I promise. Now why don't we go help Noct go find his family treasure?"

His well practiced mask of agreement came into play over his features, one that Vassa had seen many times during their work in Insomnia. "As you wish, Vassa." She could tell that he wasn't convinced of his innocence in her actions, but it wasn't his fault. Not a single moment of it. She scrubbed hand over her face and sighed, starting to trail after the others. Ignis's selflessness was something that she loved about her friend, but was also troubling at times. Perhaps she could try to persuade him to change his thoughts later. But now was on to more adventurous things.

"If my calculations are correct, the entrance to the valley preceding the waterfall should be just ahead." Ignis pointed slightly up the empty highway to a section of the security fencing running alongside the highway. They walked just beyond the large metal lightpole that signaled the ending of the rest area, about fifty steps before a rickety metal staircase descended from the side of the roadway into the forest down below. Each step shook under their combined weight, the metal squeaking in protest at the sudden unexpected burden of five bodies but held firm till they reached the bottom. Beyond the stair was a small hard stamped dirt path that wove through the thick shrubbery and sharp jutting rocks leading around the mountainside. The roadway continued on above their heads, the occasional roar of a car passing by the only sound besides their footfalls against the ground and their own breathing. At least it had stopped raining for now, the clouds were still thick with the promised burden of water but no more had fell from the sky yet. 

"Hey, guys. Don't you think it's a little creepy that it's so quiet?" Prompto tried to whisper, but his voice was still much too loud even in such a quiet setting. 

"Why? You scared?" Noctis called back as he kept the lead while walking down the brush.

"W-What? No way! Not me!" The small tremble in Prompto's betrayed his true feelings as the grass and leaves close to his feet rustled with the movement of a small brownish lizard darting around his feet. He lets out a squeak of surprise as jumped back to avoid stepping on the little creature before it scurried across the path into the opposite bushes. 

The path stretched in a long curve ahead before it started to descend downward into a valley bordered by a glistening blue river flowing steadily. A distinct thunder of a waterfall tugged at the edges of Vassa's hearing as they reached the flat land at the base of the hill along with a steady rasping sound like smooth but also rough skin sliding through the grass.

Then she saw it.

The long monstrous mass of plum colored scales slowly slithered through the grass, soulless yellow eyes darting around for the first sign of prey while the thick forked tongue darted out between the reptilian lips to taste the air with a brief flickering motion before retreating. It was huge, taller than the Burbost Souvenir Emporium if she had to guess and it's hood was fully spread from the top of it's spade shaped head to the base of the neck that flowed into the squirming body, signalling that it was a fully grown adult along with the thick spikes that lined the end of the pointed tail.

"You have got to be kidding me." Noctis grumbled.

"No way we're taking that thing on." Prompto muttered in slight wonder. "Look at the size of that thing! It's massive!"

Ignis leaned across one of the boulders, adjusting his glasses with one hand while intensely studying the beast's hourglasses shaped pattern of movement through the brush. "It appears to be about the typical size for an adult Midgardsormr and based on it's movement, it has most likely stationed a nest nearby."

"Well, we've come this far and we're not turning back." Gladio's eyes were firmly fixed on the Midgardsormr. "All kidding aside, this could be really bad really quick."

"So we'll just stay out of it?" Prompto questioned hopefully and Vassa could feel her spirits rise in anticipation.

"Nah, It'll still be cool. Come on, let's go!" Gladio summonsed his greatsword with a single flex of his hand. The shining blade shimmered in the sun, reflecting Gladio's cocky grin. 

"Hell no!" Vassa stamped her foot in the grass, a tiny puff of dust raising around her heel. 

"What's the matter, V? You afraid of a giant worm?" Gladio smirked and arched one thick eyebrow. Oh, did he smirk. He knew that she was afraid of snakes and had been for a very long time. 

"It looks like a cobra and terrified is more like it. I'll just stay with the Regalia." She crossed her arms over her chest, lightly tapping her right foot against the ground as she waited a few precious seconds until the boys realized that she was indeed dead serious. Four sets of eyes blankly stared at her, the puzzle pieces visibly clicking in their brains until the whole picture formed completely.

Ignis was the first to recover, a small jolt rippling through his lean body like he was a computer physically rebooting. "Come now, Vassa. Don't be absurd. You will most certainly be safer with us than by walking alone to the station even if you decide not to participate in battle if events do come to that." He leveled a stern glare in her direction that she had only seen him use when Noctis was being particularly stubborn. It wasn't often that such an expression was directed her way, but she refused to be intimidated and returned his gaze with a particularly stern one of her own.

"V, don't be stupid. I've seen you kick ass on things twice the size of that. And in heels too!" Twisting his arm to rest the weighty sword on his shoulder, Gladio pointed a single finger towards her shoes. "You're a pipsqueak, but a fearsome pipsqueak who out-trained all the Crownsguard cadets in your class." 

"Give it up, Gladio. Shadow hasn't gone near a snake since I tried to get her to pet one." Noctis voiced his own opinion. His teasing smirk had changed slightly, becoming just a little bit more smug to match the hardened glint showing in his eyes. 

Oh, that did it. Vassa raised one finger, jabbing it in the direction of Noct's chest like it was a mini sword. "I was five years old and you threw it down the back of my shirt! I nearly had a heart attack! And then you had the nerve to laugh at me when I started crying and ran through the Citadel to Uncle Regis in the middle of his meeting and begged him to save me!"

"You also gave Specs a black eye too when he tried to pull if off of your shirt. Don't forget about that." Noctis added.

Prompto's gaze bounced between Noctis and Vassa before landing on Ignis. His eyebrows were stretched nearly to the top of the blond fringe of his bangs with disbelief. "Did she really? How have I never heard this before?"

Not quite recovered from the earlier rounds of Ignis's induced blushing, a renewed surge of fiery feeling spread across her cheeks as the advisor then proceeded to explain. "First, Vassa has a particular aversion to this story due to the traumatic affects that it played on her mind that has since left her with an intense fear of snakes in any form. Second, as revenge for that incident. Vassa proceed to terrorize Noctis by placing a palm sized garden spider in the young prince's bed while he was sleeping until it crawled on his forehead. If my memory serves correctly, half of the citadel was woken with the sound of Noct's scream and his following chase of Vassa throughout five floors of the Citadel. The final result was that King Regis forbade either one of the children from speaking of this incident again."

Prompto turned his gaze to Vassa. blue eyes sparkling with a mild sense of amazement and wonder and a joking smile creasing up his freckled cheeks. "I thought you were a quiet kid? Looks like it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for. You really put a spider in Noct's bed?"

Her cheeks burned even hotter as she shuffled her feet against the dust, keeping her gaze trained on the ground at her feet. "...It's not my proudest moment."

"As funny as this stroll down memory lane was, we need to hurry up and get going." Gladio grumbled, impatiently shifting his sword from hand to hand. 

"Just wait a minute because I'm not going to face a snake without that." She raised her hand and pointed to a small cluster of tall green stalks growing alongside the river, the tubular stems were a bright green and topped with a small fuzzy ball of fluffy white blooms. Almost delicate in appearance, she scampered across the ground and plucked a few of the stems before returning. A pungent, heady smell started to fill the air, emanating from the little while bulb at the base of the green stem. 

"Seriously?" Noctis arched an eyebrow as Vassa started to pass around the aromatic stems. Prompto accepted his with an enthusiasm that didn't quite warrant the small flower, arranging it so that the blossom poked through the top buttonhole of his vest, boutonniere style. Gladio accepted his with a mild amount of skepticism before shrugging and wrapping the flexible stem around his left wrist like a bracelet. Ignis opted for the same style as Prompto, threading it through the buttonhole of his jacket, but it somehow look twice as elegant on him. "You're giving us garlic flowers? What is that supposed to do?"

"Garlic has been rumored to mildly offend snakes with it's strong aroma and more than a few use it as a natural repellent of sorts for any undesirable guests. As for myself, I think it has a rather _scent-sational_ claim." Ignis quipped.

A collective groan rose from the remaining boys while Vassa laughed softly at Ignis's well timed pun. Her hands were busy arranging the flower around her waist in a belt like fashion until the only scent she could smell was the heady scent of garlic. She didn't have a true claim that it worked as a repellent for the reptilian ones, but she also hadn't had an encounter with any snakes while she had garlic around her, so that was good enough evidence for her. Now it was time to see if it worked on the Midgardsormr as well.

It did. They had kept to the edge of the river, following it towards the head of the waterfall when the giant snake had perked up to notice the movement on the fringes of it's territory. Her heart had started beating double time in her chest as the muscular serpentine coals started traveling their way, flooding her system with the adrenaline needed in case of combat. With a single mental tug, her blades had came to her hands and were ready to fly at a moment's notice.

"Easy." Gladio had hissed while stationing himself in front of Noctis in case of an attack.

The Midgardsormr drew closer, the forked tongue slapping in and out with desperate flickers as it read the air. Then something changed. An expression almost like revulsion crossed the serpentine features as it turned and retreated back towards it's nest, leaving the entire party with nothing more than a parting glimpse of it's spiked tail as it disappeared into the brush. With a great relieved sigh that she hadn't realized she had been holding in, she breathed out in a long rush and allowed the blades to fade from her grasp. "So it really works."

"It seems so." Ignis confirmed her suspicion with a brief nod of his head before he glanced away down the river to the pool of the waterfall and pointed. "I suspect that we won't be that lucky twice."

They all followed the direction of Ignis's outstretched finger to where a fence of large greyish lumpy boulders framed the base of the waterfall. Shrouded in the pale mist, Vassa had to blink her own eyes to wipe away the thought that the boulders were moving. Wait a minute. They were actually moving! Shifting slowly on smaller legs, the massive pinching claws shifted into view as her brain slowly put a name with the beast she was seeing. ShieldShears, a boulder sized variety of crab with pincers nearly as big as their own body. Their delicious meat was highly praised by chefs, but when they were scuttling around. One had to be careful as one strike of their massive claws in the right spot could kill a person. There had to be at least 8 of the hulking crustaceans, forming an impenetrable barrier along the base of the waterfall and whatever treasure was contained inside.

 _Crab guard dogs. That's different._ She idly thought to herself as the flash of weapons being summoned graced each one of the party's fingertips. Noctis's engine blade, Prompto's pistols, Ignis's daggers, and her blades all shifted in reality as Gladio raised his sword that he had kept in place since the Midgardsormr approached. Noctis had started to charge forward when Gladio had slung his arm around Noct's slim shoulders, nearly knocking the king over as the shield flashed a reckless grin.

"I got this, you all just sit back and watch how it's done." Noctis slung off Gladio's arm with a swipe of his own, earning a playful shove that sent the king staggering backward a step. 

"Oh, yeah? I bet I could show you a thing or two!" Noctis shot back, lurching to steadying himself before running into a headlong charge towards the massive crabs. 

"Well, then. By all means, please do!" Gladio wasn't far behind, his broadsword up and ready for a blow.

"Come back here! Now is not the time to approach without a plan!" Ignis's sigh was drowned out by the smack of steel against armored flesh, the magical zing of Noctis's blue tinged battle warping as his figure flashed here and there in a trail followed by his flung weapon.

"Hey, guys! Wait up!" Bouncing across the ground with long strides, Prompto fired off a shot from each hand. The resulting thunder of gunfire adding to the mix of combat as the blonde joined the fray.

"Looks like the plan has to wait, Iggy." Vassa started to walk towards melee, half turning to glance over her shoulder to see if the advisor was coming. "Come on, let's go!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little note. Garlic flowers can also represent Courage too. :)


	7. Chapter 7 ~ Look Out Below!

"Are we there yet?" Prompto whined for what had to be the eighth million time. With his shoulders drooped and his arms folded across his chest to conserve any warmth that he did have, the violet colored bruises and weeping red scratches covering his freckled cheeks and extending down his arms, and his chattering teeth that moved the the whole time he spoke. Vassa's favorite chocobuddy was the pure picture of misery as their little party tromped through the extent of the Greyshire Grotto.

"Not yet," Gladio growled once again, voice booming off the ice covered walls like a Coeurl's thunderous roar from the sheer annoyance of Prompto's never ending demand to know how close they were to their destination. The sound was quickly followed by another one of Prompto's heart wrenching groans as he trudges on once again into the deepest, darkest depths of the icy cave.

Vassa sighed, forcing herself to keep treading along by pushing one foot in front of the other. She could so easily relate to Prompto's feelings of despair. It felt like they had been walking for hours after the quick but extremely brutal dispatch of the ShieldShears that had left all of them tired and sore from the unexpected quick blows of the heavy claws. Well, all of them except for Gladio. The burly shield had never stopped moving even after nearly being crushed between two of the massive hard shelled bodies. Instead, he was following close alongside a slightly limping and ice frosted Noctis as they walked deeper and deeper into the ever winding path to the heart of the grotto. 

Currently they crept along a narrow ledge just barely wide enough to fit their feet, the ice encrusted stalactites hanging from the ceiling were like giant razor sharp teeth just waiting to descend down in a single crushing bite. A shiver coiled thick around her spine, raising a fine sheen of goosebumps across her skin beneath the protective layer of her jacket. She clenched her arms tighter around herself, tugging her jacket closer to her figure to try and ward off some of the glacial chill while she trailed behind Noctis. _Poor PomPom, he's probably freezing to death right now._ She thought, but barely cast a quick glance upwards to the shivering blonde ahead of her before returning her gaze to her feet so that she wouldn't lose her balance and fall into the murky depths of the cave lingering below, but her mind wandered over the a particular fact.

The majority of thoughts that was troubling her mind was the strange way that Noctis had barely seemed to notice the chill himself, somber faced leading the way though the winding pathways and caverns like he was being guided by some inner compass towards the fabled treasure. It was strange the way that he had become so quiet, only occasionally speaking to them in response to something they said. It was strange for him not to quip the sarcastic remarks that he normally dealt with a slight Noctis smirk. She really hoped that maybe it was the influence of his ancestor's royal tomb at work here and not just some evil ancient relic that might have been forgotten about till now and was preying on the king's mind. At least the attacks by the daemons had stopped for now, the only thing being the occasional small Imp or a blobby Flan appearing in their path. They had nearly been overwhelmed at first by the crowded masses of the chattering purple skin, sharp clawed creatures that barely came up to her knee, but their bony bodies were extremely agile particularly when sitting on the golden crescent moon they carried on their backs that rendered them capable of a hovering flight. A nuisance they may be, but a dangerous nuisance still the same when faced with a pack of twenty imps all chattering their sharp teeth for human blood. 

The attacks had come so often that not a single one of them flinched when one of the others called "Imp!" or "Flan!", quickly followed by a weapon sinking into the daemon in question before it could harm their companion. The most notable time that Vassa herself had flinched was when Prompto's gun fired off a shot that went whistling past her left ear in a blast of heated air, exterminating the maliciously grinning Imp that had crawled down the walls in a swirl of dark miasma and shattered ice. Prompto had eagerly apologized for her fright of course, but the favor was soon returned to both him and Gladio when her blades sailed through the air mere inches from their necks and into the Flans behind them, earning a squealing squeak from the blonde but a mere lazy glance and raised eyebrow from Gladio himself.

Her mind returned to the present as they left the narrow ledge and emerged into what appeared to be a wider path that split into two large mouth-like caverns that laid ahead. A steady stream of frosty air blew up from some hidden depths in each of the caverns, freezing any warmth that Vassa had until she was shivering just as badly as Prompto was. Gladio was still walking just behind a stoic Noctis, warily glancing around in a constant scan for threats that were quickly ended with one swift thrust of his sword. Ignis, herself, and Prompto all trailed just behind them, effectively forming a little human train as they chugged through the icy lair and it's approaching.

"Hey, Ig! Shouldn't we be getting close to the center of the cave by now? We've been walking _forever_. Is either of these two caves going to take us to the tomb?" As he spoke, Prompto's voice took on a slightly nasal pitch as it echoed off the ice frosted walls. He shifted his weight from foot to foot as he walked in an odd little hopping maneuver that matched the shivering motion of his bare arms wrapped around his ribs and the chattering ring of his jaw. _PomPom's getting so pale, he really is freezing to death. I hope he's not getting hypothermia._

"That was the very question in my mind, Prompto. Gladio, Noct, would you be so kind as to pause for a moment while I check the map?" With a slight creak of his frost covered gloves, Ignis retrieved the folded map from the inner pocket of his jacket and spread the fragile paper across the nearest flat ice covered surface, a small ledge that jutted out from the wall like a small shelf. "Noct, do you have any further feelings or imput that might be of use to us in determining the direction?" Ignis directed his gaze towards the blue eyed king who was currently gazing down the path toward the cavern to the left, the ring of scattered frost stretching around the exterior of his glasses was one that mirrored Vassa's own. 

"Not really," Noctis shrugged, a light scattering of ice shaking loose from his shoulders. "I'm just feeling something from over there." He pointed towards the left most cavern. The very same one that seemed to be leaking the most frigid air of all. Vassa shivered again as she fought off a yawn that threatened to nearly split her jaws in half. Maybe it wouldn't hurt anything if she just rested her eyes for a moment... 

"V, Flan!" Her heavy eyelids that had been so near to closing snapped open in the same instant that the sickeningly sweet smell assaulted her nostrils. Her right wrist snapped back on instinct, her blades coming to her hands with just a single mental tug as the whirl and hiss of Noctis's warping abilities left a trail of shimmering blue magic up to the ceiling of the cave. He was hanging by one arm, the blade nearly being driven to the hilt in the ice as a sludgy blue ooze slowly dripped down onto the cave floor around her. "Yech! Really not a fan of these mushy things." Noct grumbled as he warped himself back down onto the floor beside her. 

"Looks like these things don't really care for your royal opinion." Gladio growled while his hands were already filled by his large broadsword, the slap of metal against squishy daemon flesh was one that echoed off the walls as a squishy sucking sound. Dripping down from the ceiling as a product of the nightmare they came from, the Flans oozed down and reformed themselves into the roaring, golden glowing eyed mass with jelly-like body that could absorb most physical attacks. Quickly forming arm-like protrusions from their bodies, the Flans slowly started advancing towards the group with the slapping thud of their arms meeting the ice like the drumbeats of war. " 

"Holy shit, how many of them are there?" Prompto quickly said as he fired off a second round of bullets that was quickly absorbed by the bodies's of the Flans. With a steady rhythm born from countless praise , Vassa alternated an arching throw of her blades followed by a quick charge forward to deal out a strong cross punch to the jiggly flesh before retreating out of range with a quick backflip as she recalled her blades. Something blue caught the edge of her vision, and once she righted herself up before snapping forward with a quick slinging motion, she swiveled about to see that one of the sweet scented daemons was sneaking up behind Prompto with an arm already extended for one of the bone breaking slaps. 

Her heart thudded in her chest, the breath caught somewhere between her ribs and her throat as she tried and failed to find her own way through the melee to feint off the blow quickly approaching her friend. Gladio wasn't any closer than she was, and neither was Ignis. Both men were locked in combat with a difficult Flan of their own. On the other hand, Noctis would be capable of reaching him if he warped. "Noct! Prompto!" She raised her arm high in the air and frantically pointed it towards the blonde who was now under attack by the Flan. 

Noctis nodded once, flinging his sword with all his strength in a single massive thrust as his body vanished in a trail of sparkling Lucian blue after it, coming to a halt only once his blade had firmly exterminated the Flan right through the center of it's jelly like body. "Say your prayers." 

"Thanks, buddy." Prompto slapped Noct on the shoulder, flashing a reckless grin as he fired off another shot. Vassa raised her arms above her head to block the incoming blow from her own Flan and the ring of the soft flesh on her steel blades was loud, but not loud enough to prevent her from hearing the subtle oddities of the sound crackling more than it should. _Wait... that's not-_

"Noctis! Prompto! Vassa! Get away from there!" She barely registered Gladio's call before the ground beneath her feet crumbled away, a blizzard of icy shards and sharp rocks pelting her exposed skin as a curious weightless sensation enveloped her. Time seemed to slow, measured only by the frantic beating of her heart as her arms pinwheeled through the air but there was nothing for her to hold on to. The thunder of crumbling ground and ice roared in her ears, drowning out the fear filled scream that was ripping from her throat and the shouts of Gladio and Ignis as she spiraled through the air like a windblown snowflake. 

Then suddenly it stopped. 

Her body painfully smacked into the ground, something deep inside her cracking with the blow and then she couldn't breath. What air she had burned like fire, scorching her insides as her limbs refused to move. She could feel her eyes bulging, burning from the icy grit and leaking hot tears down her cheeks as she tried and failed to pull air into her aching chest. _Shit... This is it... This is how I'm going to die._

"Vassa! Vassa, oh shit!" Noctis's voice, thick and raspy from his own screams, sounded from somewhere above her head. It was dark, too dark for her to see anything after the small flashlight clipped to her jacket had broken in the fall, or perhaps it was simply her eyes were too weak and failing to see any light that might have remained. She could certainly feel his hands prodding her body to roll over, and a soft squeak bubbled from her throat as she tried and failed to shift onto her back. "Um... Shit! Don't close your eyes! Just hold on!" The hands left her, the quick rustling of frantic hands searching through clothes indicating that Noctis was searching for something he had stored previously. "Shit, shit, shit!" His voice cursed even quicker, seemed almost oddly funny to her in a way. 

_Ignis would pitch a hissy fit if he heard Noct cursing that way. Language unbecoming a prince and all that. That's funny, I don't remember Uncle Regis ever cursing except that time when he smashed his toe against his desk. I think he broke it too._ Hot and thick, something bitter with the tang of iron filtered across her tongue. She wheezed out a weak cough, feeling the liquid dribble past her lips and land against the jagged ice poking against her cheek. Suddenly her stiff fingers were folded around something vaguely soft and feather shaped, a surge of heat rushing through her bones with such strength that it almost felt like she was burning alive. She gasped, her back arching up with the strength of her suddenly clear breath as whatever inside her that had been broken returned into place with a neat click. The muscles along her arms and legs contracted, pushing her onto her hands and knees as she scrambled up to stand on her own two feet. 

"Vassa, you okay?" Two hands landed on each one of her shoulders, providing a steadying grip as she blankly nodded and forced herself to swallow against the lump of bitter bile that was nearly bursting free from her throat. That lump was quickly tossed away as she felt herself being tugged into one of Noctis's rare but deeply clinging hugs. "Don't do that again. I was worried about you." He whispered into her ear and she felt the slightest trickle of a hot tear against her neck that contrasted with the cold tickle of the tips of his ice frosted hair ticked against the side of her face. 

Her tongue didn't work right at first, too large and too thick for proper words, but she finally managed to speak as she gratefully returned Noct's heartfelt hug. "S'okay. I'm okay. You okay? Where's PomPom?" 

Noctis released her except for a hand on her arm so that she wouldn't lose him in the darkness. "I'm fine, but I don't know. You were the first one I found and I thought you were... you know." 

Vassa nodded, but she wasn't sure if he could see the action. "Maybe he fell just a little bit further away?" 

"Yeah, I guess. It's dark as shit in here. Can't see a thing." The creak of Noct's leather boots crunched the ice below the soles of his feet with every step. Even though the Phoenix Down had restored her health, her energy was certainly lacking as she found herself leaning heavily on Noct's shoulder for support as they tried to carefully feel their way through the darkness, mentally hoping that her next step wouldn't be her last. They had venture a fair distance when something started to glow far in the distance. The figurative light at the end of the tunnel. 

"Hey! Need... A little... Help here!" A normally perky voice called out into the frigid air. Prompto's voice. He sounded like he was in pain. So much pain that her heart twisted deep inside her still sore chest at just the thought. She picked up her speed, hobbling slightly on a slightly swollen foot, but eagerly rushed to find out the fate of her friend. 


	8. Chapter 8 ~ A Shocking Discovery

"Prompto!"

The scream ripped free from Vassa's throat as she rushed towards where her blonde friend laid sprawled across the blood stained ice. His back was propped up partially by a protruding jagged rock, one leg stretched out partially in front of him while the other was bent up at an awkward right angle that surely wasn't natural based on the slowly spreading dark stain on his pants. He was up and alert for that much, a slight crease of fear playing over his features while his left hand held the flashing light previously attached to his jacket. The pale light danced over the ice, glancing around the jagged interior of the large cavern and two large doors installed directly into the ice, before finally illuminating the three tall figures hovering phantom like around his body before they darted back into the safety of the shadows. Despite the minor miracle that her glasses had not gone missing or broken during the fall, she still couldn't fully tell what kind of daemon that they were fighting. Every time they darted so far forward to the light, they withdrew before she could fully see the human shaped figure, but she could tell that whatever type it was, it appeared to be floating in the air.

"Get away from me! I'm not dinner!" With a quick motion, Prompto pulled his handgun into play, firing off a series of shots that earned him the hiss of his would-be predator's. She saw his expression change as he noticed their arrival, quickly morphing from one of fear to one of hope. "V! Noct! Oh, man. Am I glad to see the two of you!"

"Looks like you need a little help." Noctis summoned his sword in a flash of blue tinged light, half turning to glance her way. "Can you protect Prompto for awhile?"

Vassa sucked in a breath, the painful ache still lingering in her chest like a brace preventing her from breathing fully, but tugged on the mental summon of her blades. They appeared on target, the cool metal easily sliding between her fingers as she quickly drew back her wrist, aimed, and flung the three blades in her left hand. The daemons lingering in the shadows gurgled in sudden shock, the hissing sound of their breath was too much like the whisper of death as they tried to advance despite the blinding influence of Prompto's light. "Does that answer your question?" She raised an eyebrow, expecting a snaky response from her cousin, but he simply smiled and nodded. The flickering action of his arm slinging out his sword and warping behind it so sudden that she was left breathing in the sparkles of his disappearance. 

"Eyes peeled, mouth closed. That's the best tip I've got for battling with a warping Noct. The sparkles sometimes make me cough." Prompto chuckled weakly through a groan, trying to sit up a little bit more but hissing through his teeth as his wounded leg dragged against the ice. Vassa's brain snapped into action, swiveling her attention from the battle to crouch down beside Prompto and inspect his wound. A thick surge of bile swirled deep in her stomach when she saw the tattered edges of ragged flesh and red tissue exposed along his calf, the deep garnet and burgundy color of his inner muscles was one that should have never been exposed to the air, much less the thick shaft of pale bone sticking up through his skin. As much as she loved Prompto like a brother, there was some things about him that she had never wanted to see and this was one of them. 

"The Astrals..." She trailed off, not quite sure how to approach it first. Thanks to the bone chilling cold of the Grotto, his bleeding had slowed significantly to an almost jam-like consistency puddled around his wound and down on the ice below. So hopefully he wasn't bleeding to death somewhere inside. Her teeth nervously sank down into her lower lip as she pulled it through her teeth, the brief pain attempting to jump start any thoughts she might have swirling about. "Is this.. You're not hurt anywhere else are you?"

"If you don't count scratches and bruises, and I'm so cold that I think my fingers are freezing off along with a few other body parts. But otherwise, I'm good." The sickly pale cast to his smiling face told her otherwise, but she reached down into her pocket and pulled out one of the slightly crushed and partially bald Phoenix Downs out from her pocket. 

"Here, take this. Ignis has got all the Hi-Potions in the inventory satchel, but go ahead and try this just to make sure you're healed up." 

Prompto had reached up, his icy fingers brushing against hers before a sweet smelling fog clouded her senses, her vision turning into a slightly dazed mass of fuzzy blobs as she felt the precious feather slip between her fingers. She staggered back on the ice, the ring of Prompto's gun and the frantic calls of her name was slightly muffled. Almost like she was living underwater, her movements were sluggish, her vision murky, and her hearing muted to the point that she could no longer tell friend from foe. She fell, the cold ice completely unforgiving to her knees as something tall and dark loomed straight in front of her. 

For a moment, Vassa refused to believe that the tall man with the mass of grey tentacle-like beard, long blue robe with a red skirt slightly writhing with a life of it's own, and ornate arrow shaped hat was a figment of her own addled mind. But a faint thought from her Crownguards training tickled the very edges of her thoughts with a single name.

_Mindflayer._

"Noctis, watch it!" She heard the rough grumble of Gladio's voice call out into the air as two more dark shapes arrived and immediately threw themselves into the melee. She saw a figure go down, the shadowy outline of a sword in hand and her heart clenched tight with the realization that the shape had to be Noctis. _I'm supposed to protect him. I WILL protect him._

Lurching forward on unsteady legs, she stumbled towards the combat. Only to have one of the dark bearded figures to appear directly before her. Even in her current confused state, she could see the beady golden eyes maliciously gleaming deep in the mass of the head. "Get out of my way!" She growled, jabbing her blades directly towards the center mass of the head. The blow never made contact, her feet slipping on the ice as she lunged forward, only to receive an answering slap from the tentacles directly to her head. Her murky vision spun, her glasses flying off her face to land somewhere in the distance as she came crashing down on her knees. 

Knife sharp pain slashed through the bones of her knees and up through the palms of her hands where she had caught herself, but even with her head spinning so much that she couldn't tell if up was down or down was up, the pain helped with one thing. 

Her mind cleared enough that she could see the three Mindflayers still fighting her friends. 

_Mindflayers... Mindflayers are weak against lightening._ Some previously forgotten portion of her Crownsguard training suddenly appeared in her thoughts. The one standing before her gurgled happily, it's beard of tentacles and writhing fingers slowly caressing her back and shoulders as it lowered down, intending to take a bite of her flesh. Slowly as not to alarm the creature, she reached one hand to her belt where a small palm sized round metal orb was clipped. With a quick flick of her fingers, she unsnapped the flask, hiding the slight glow from the magic filled item by keeping it turned towards her hip. 

The Mindflayer kept lowering, almost ready to devour her, when she opened the magic flask and let the power of the lightening magic spill forth towards her weapons. The specially inlaid blue gems around the hilts of her blades glowed bright, filling with the magic as the crackling energy took hold. Shafts of jagged blue lightening danced over the surface of her blades, mimicking a powerful storm. The Mindflayer shrieked in sudden surprise, lifting itself away to try and escape from the hated element but it was too slow.

With a quick lunge, she drove up in a long arching swipe, splitting the daemon's body open from the base of the skirt-like formation of tentacles at the base of it's body, to the joint of the tentacle wrapped beard and the sharp stubby beak contained underneath. A wave of thick black liquid spilled forth, soaking her jacket and shirt with the dark blood like liquid before it began to evaporate into misty clouds of miasma as well as the fallen body. With the threat now eliminated, the unbridled surge of electrical magic bucked against the control of her blades, seeking an opponent to release it's storm of fury on. Finding none, it settled on recoiling against her control, sending wave after wave of shocking electricity sizzling up the nerves of her arm. Stumbling backwards, she vaguely felt her back hit the ice frosted ground before her vision blackened completely. 

Sometime later, Vassa vaguely heard a faint call of her name before a fizzy liquid was abruptly forced between her lips. Extremely sweet in taste and so filled with energy that she could feel a renewed sense of life flooding her limbs, her eyes snapped open immediately to find herself staring at four pairs of slightly blurry eyes glittering with concern. Blinking twice, her tongue still felt slightly numb as she tried to speak. "Um... Did I miss something? Why are you guys staring at me?"

The group chuckled with relief. "She's alright." Noctis straightened up, brushing a hand through the tips of his ice frosted hair.

"That was a damn big explosion you set off there, V. Scared the hell out of those other Mindflayers, and sent them running for whatever crack that came out of." Gladio's deep voice grumbled above her head as Vassa started trying to pick herself up off the ground. He slid his large hands underneath her shoulders, helping to support her as she rolled her legs underneath her body and stood up. Still slightly unsteady, her hips and knees swayed forward, being quickly caught by Prompto's and Ignis's hands around her shoulders before she pitched forward to face plant in the ice again. Noctis still remained in front, hands out and ready to catch if she should so much as even think about falling forward again.

"Perhaps it would be wise if you were to finish drinking this." Taking the opportunity of her hand being open and slightly flexed, Ignis slipped a cool blue can in between her fingers. Blinking slightly in surprise, the writing printed on the metal was blurred, but Vassa was still able to see that the letters formed the word HI-POTION. She eagerly raised the can to her lips, tipping her head back, and slugged the last remains of the drink down. 

And immediately regretted it. 

A sudden dizzy sensation sent her head spinning as Vassa tried to straighten up, causing her to lean forward and brace her hands against her thighs, sucking in the frost chilled air to flood her still healing lungs and clear her spinning head. The empty can landed somewhere about her feet, clattering loudly against the ice. A section of her dark bangs spilled across her eyes, but she saw someone approaching her from the left through the fringe. She flinched slightly as a hand laid tentatively on her back, pressing something slim and folded into her hands. Her glasses, smudged severely with dirt and grime, but still miraculously whole. A heavy sigh of relief slipped past her lips as she pushed her glasses into place, her world shifting into focus once more. "I'm fine. Was that it?"

"It looks like it." Gladio's comment caused her to scan around the completely empty cavern once more, her gaze landing on the imposing figure of the two large doors embedded directly into the ice. "Better go on and see what's waiting behind those doors, princess."

"Yeah, Noct. Hurry up. The quicker you find your family relic, the quicker we can go back outside into the gloriously warm sunshine.." Prompto appeared almost fully healed from his gruesome injury earlier, but his walking gait was still a little stiff like the bones weren't connected just right. 

"Right." Noctis fumbled in the pockets of his pants for a moment as he padded towards the two looming doors, his features twisting up in an intense scowl of concentration while he groped for something that had slid into the very depths of his pockets.

"You didn't lose it, did you?" Gladio grumbled, leaning over Noctis's shoulder with a curious glance before the king swatted him away with an annoyed swipe of his hand. 

"Of course I didn't! It's right here." Vassa's own curiosity was perked as she saw Noctis produced a small metal key laid in the center of his bare palm. The silver metal almost seemed to glow in reference to his dirt and ice smeared palm as he inserted it into the ice crusted lock on the door and twisted. The door unlocked with a loud squealing click, ancient metal being forced into use after so many years of abandonment. For a moment, she thought that she had imagined the slight hesitation in Noct's hands as he reached forward and opened the doors, but he never hesitated while entering the eternal slumber of the fallen King of Lucis's tomb.

"Wow, this one is the Wanderer! That's a major score thanks to our little informant buddy." Prompto's murmured slightly in awe behind her shoulder as both her and Gladio filtered into the ornate cavern behind Noctis, Prompto and Ignis standing behind her as they all watched Noctis walk to the resting king and extend a single hand, summoning the shimmering Sword of the Wanderer from it's resting place to momentarily hover in the air. Her eyes, still raw from the dust of the shattered ice, started to weep as the blue light strengthened, showcasing the highly decorated ornate swords that could form together into one massive blade to it's fullest distinction before the shimmering weapon twisted in the air and speared Noctis right through his chest into the deepest parts of his heart. 

"NOCT!" The unholy screech ripped free from Vassa's throat, her worst horror confirmed that he was in danger as she watched Noctis stagger back two steps with his hand cupped to his chest, the silver phantasmic images of the mighty double bladed Axe of the Conqueror and the long and lethally sharp Sword of the Wise pirouetted around his body in addition to the newly added Sword of the Wanderer, encircling his body in the silvery light of his armiger before the ghostly royal arms faded. The weapons faded with a sharp snap, disappearing with only the faintest traces of blue sparkles left hanging in the air. Her anxiety still wasn't totally reassured that Noctis was unharmed as he had yet to speak, so with a cautious step forward, she poked his shoulder with a single finger. "Noct? You okay?"

Surprisingly he turned around, that slightly glazed look that had frosted his eyes ever since they had entered the Grotto now cleared, showing only his familiar Lucian blue eyes sparkling with a slight bit of hidden humor. "Why wouldn't I be? It's only a weapon using by my ancestors, not like it's really dangerous or anything."

"Don't start being an ass, you ass." She narrowed her eyes against his teasing smirk.

"I'm not the ass, you are."

"Noctis, Vassa. _Language._ " Ignis scolded sharply while Gladio and Prompt snickered.

A brief huff left the king's lips, waving his arm to gesturing the party onwards. "Whatever. Let's get out of here." 

Following Noctis's royal proclamation and Ignis's infallible map skills, the party of five managed to shortly find their way back to the waterfall covered entrance just as the sun had started to set into a blaze of slightly orange tinted clouds above in a blue sky. "Oh, thank you Astrals! Glorious sunshine again." Prompto tilted his head back and cried out to the heavens above as they climbed out of the Grotto to stand at the edge of the thundering waterfall. The overspray of fine mist was much warmer than what she remembered, or perhaps it was just the effects of being in such a chilled environment for so long. Something she couldn't excuse though was Prompto's hugging of a sun warmed rock and his promise to never leave the wonderful sunlight again.

"Just a wee bit dramatic, don't you think Gladio?" She started to ask the shield, but her attention was immediately snapped away as Noctis gave out a cry of pain and suddenly doubled over to his knees, his hands fisted tight against the sides of his head with just the slightest fringe of his dark hair poking out from between his fingers. His eyes clenched tight and his teeth bared against whatever invisible agony had suddenly struck him.

"Noct!" Vassa reached out, lightly laying her hand against his shoulder. He didn't seem to notice, but she could feel that his muscles were so rigid and tight with pain even through the thick leather of his shirt. He groaned, pressing his fists so tight against his skull that she was half afraid that he might cause himself some sort of bone fracture by pressing on his bones so firmly. 

Releasing his rock companion, Prompto scrambled across the ground and slid down beside her leg. Resting fully on his knees in front of Noctis's face to try and direct his attention away from the pain. "Hey, buddy? You okay? What's wrong?"

Noctis's muscles tensed, his shoulders shifting under her hands as he slightly lowered his hands from pressing so tightly against his skull. Despite the sudden ease in the pain, he was still panting like he had finished running a race. "Where... What did I... Where was that?" He finally mumbled, still too confused to totally make sense.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gladio lingering just to her right, and she could feel Ignis peering over her left shoulder. "What was it?" The shield's rumbled question seemed to trigger another round of pain through Noctis's skull as he winched again and returned his right hand to his temple.

"It was a hole in the ground... But it was burning? Yeah, burning like... The Meteor?" Noctis finally mumbled after a moment, still seemingly not sure of his vision himself. 

"You saw the Disc of Cauthess? Perhaps it would be wise for us to make our way back to Lestallum." Vassa glanced over my shoulder to see Ignis thoughtfully tapping his chin with a single long finger. "It is becoming rather late, and it wouldn't be wise to explore such premonitions without a resting a tad first."

"Plus we can report back to Talcott and Iris and let them know what happened. Talcott will probably be thrilled to know that his info was great." Prompto provided a steadying hand to Noctis as he straightened up, the king gazing across the landscape with a somber, thoughtful glance before nodding. 

Thankfully that even though the sunlight was waning into dusk, the walk back and the accompanying ride to Lestallum was peaceful enough that Noctis dozed off, his head resting against Vassa's shoulder with his pointed chin digging deeply into her bones. _Yay, that's gonna leave a bruise tomorrow._ She thought as she tried to shift around, only to have Noct's arms firmly latch on to her left one, nearly squeezing the blood flow off from the strength of his grip. Gladio grumbled a laugh in her ear, firmly ignoring the annoyed look she tossed his way by returning to the book she had bought for him previously. Prompto was up front, fiddling with the radio controls while Ignis alternated between driving and glancing up in the mirror to check on Noctis. He didn't really have to worry, the king was firmly sound asleep so much that Vassa idly wondered if Gladio might have to carry him back to Leville.

That wasn't totally true. As soon as Ignis steered the Regalia into the Lestallum overlook parking area, Noctis woke up and started demanding to visit one particular restaurant. The famed Tostwell Grill located at the back of the marketplace was rumored to have the tastiest Spicy Skewers in all of Lestallum, and it sounded like heaven to have a hot meal after spending so long in the frigid caverns that they made their way there at once. Once seated by the friendly waiter, she scanned through the menu, her gaze briefly lingering on the mouthwatering image of the Spicy Skewers that looked just as delicious as she had imagined, but Vassa found what she wanted down on the very bottom of the list. Her eyes glazed over, too in shock of how delicious it sounded to notice that her stomach was starting to rumble from merely reading the description.

_*Weekly Special* Cinnamon Overload_

_A large decadent layer of freshly baked pillowy soft dough swirled with fresh cinnamon, topped with whipped white chocolate cinnamon creme, warm cinnamon caramel sauce, and sprinkled with fresh grated cinnamon on top._

She was all too eager to point out her desire to the waiter once he reappeared, much to the shock of the four guys who were in the middle of ordering their own Tostwell signature Spicy Skewers, but she wouldn't have traded one single bite of her lovely desert for all of the spiced meat in Eos for what she saw coming towards her.

"Woah! Can you really handle that much sweets, pipsqueak?" Gladio's dark eyes were stretched wide as he watched the waiter place the veritable mountain of cinnamon flavored goodness right before her. The description on the menu had greatly understated the Astral blessed item. A thick puffy layer of sweetened yeast dough nearly three inches thick, artfully arranged with thick swirls of darker brown cinnamon crafted through the dough, topped with a cloud of thick white creme beat into tall peaks, and drizzled with thick, buttery caramel sauce and sprinkles of cinnamon scattered about like faery dust. It was beautiful, gorgeous even, and she might possibly have been drooling from the side of her mouth from sheer delight.

And there was five wriggling fingers slowly inching across the table towards her beloved dessert.

Each of the boys had the opportunity to order whatever they wanted, all of them choosing the Spicy Skewers instead, and it was extremely bad manners to snitch a bite from someone else's plate without permission, considering the fingers belonged to her sweets loving royal cousin himself. So it was extremely justifiable in her mind when she picked up the knife provided with the utensils of her meal and stabbed it deep into the table, right in front of Noctis's advancing fingers and barely missing his flesh by mere inches. 

"Geez, Shadow. A little violent, aren't we?" Noctis partially withdrew his hand. "I just wanted a little taste. It's your royal duty to share with your beloved king."

"Or cut off his snack thieving little fingers if he doesn't keep them to himself." She snarled, ignoring a quick flash of protesting pain from her stiffening fingers while she scooped up a spoonful of the delicious creme and caramel to shove between her lips. Her eyes closed as a contented little smile curled the corners of her lips. Ahh! Sweet bliss.

"Dude, you better be careful." She slitted one eye open to see Prompto leaned across the table to whisper in Noctis's ear. Poor boy never had been able to whisper. "You guys remember what she did after her 16th birthday party, right? When you and Gladio got into that cake Iggy made for her?"

"Yeah, I remember." Gladio leaned back in his chair, briefly pinching a piece of the dark red colored seasoned meat off the skewer to pop into his mouth, chewing slowly to savor the spiced meaty flavor. "Two layers of Ignis's special Fluffy Chiffon Cake, stuffed and frosted with that sweet cinnamon vanilla buttercream, and thick dark chocolate fudge stripes on top. It was delicious, one of your best things Ig, but V's heel print on my ass didn't fade for about a week. The pipsqueak was raging mad too, nearly came close to beating the crap outta me. Well, almost. About as much as damage as a little goblin can do."

 _Did he just..._ The spoon previously held between her fingers clattered against her plate, haven fallen from hands suddenly devoid of any control. She felt her face flush blood red, embarrassment worse than anything she had ever encountered by tripping and falling was easily surpassed by this. She wanted to crawl under the table and die. No, scratch that. She wanted to call out Iris on her older brother for a mega sibling beatdown. Yeah, that would be a better alternative than begging Noctis to try and warp with her back to her room at the Leville.

"Ah!" All the good humor that had enveloped the group suddenly vanished as Noctis leaned forward, his elbows banging sharply against the table on either side of his plate. His hands vainly clutched at the sides of his head, a pain filled grimace once again pulling his features up into a desperate snarl. "The hell? it's burning... burning so much."

"Gladio, pick Noct up and carry him back to the Leville. Prompto, Vassa. Gather up the remains of our meal. I'll pay the charges. We'll accompany you shortly." In the briefest of moments, Ignis had assumed control with his signature calm, precise manner despite the slight flush to his own cheeks from Gladio's complement to his baking skills. It was instinct honed from years of experience of working together that had Vassa's shaking hands directing Prompto on retrieving the remainder of their meal, no matter how much her mind was conjuring every scenario imaginable that could cause such a severe reaction. It was with this same efficient grace that Ignis directed both her and Prompto in a mildly functioning manner in pursuit of Gladio, Noctis casually draped over his shoulders like a dark clothed scarf but held firmly so he didn't slide down from the Garulaback ride position he was in. 

The walk back to the Leville was rather slow, almost to the point of lazy as Noctis was still having stark pains shooting through his head every now and then, but he never spoke of any other visions that had appeared. Once inside the safety of their room, Noctis promptly crawled into one of the beds and pulled the blankets over his head, becoming a non-responsive burrito shaped lump till at least sometime tomorrow morning hopefully. Prompto and Gladio had both settled down in the two chairs surrounding the table, phones out and chirping as they played a quick round of King's Knight. Vassa had started to leave for her own room, but Ignis had requesting for her to wait on the balcony of their room while he fetched a nightcap of Ebony to top off the evening. 

Despite everything, Lestallum was very lovely at night. The warm lights, the slightly lower but still bustling sounds, and a few people slowly drifted by on the street below. She sat down on one of two simple iron chairs placed on the balcony along with a small cafe table, leaning her upper body over the railing and folding her arms underneath my chin. A gentle breeze playfully twisted in the strands of her hair, just enough that the shaggy ends tickled her neck like a bug was crawling across her skin. 

"My apologies for the wait," Ignis's voice was softer as he stepped out of the room, two silvery mugs filled with steaming Ebony held in each gloved hand as he gently nudged the folding door shut with the toe of his shoe. During the time that he had ventured in search of the drink, his jacket had also mysteriously disappeared, leaving him in just his violet and black Coeurl patterned shirt with the long sleeves half rolled up to his elbows. "In addition to preparing our drinks and storing our leftovers from dinner. Someone had hidden my parcel of Ebony beneath a container of cup noodles. I can only pray to the Astrals that the taste was not compromised by such an mockery of food."

"Relax, Iggy. They're not that bad or Gladio and Noctis couldn't live off them." Vassa tried not to winch as her fingers folded around the steaming mug that Ignis passed over to her as he settled in the chair opposite her. Shit, her fingers were really starting to sting. With that first sip of freshly brewed Ebony, she took the chance to savor every note of the sweet bitter flavor rolling across her tongue as the warmth of the drink soothed the last clinging threads of the Grotto's chilled hold. Vassa had nearly finished her Ebony when she noticed the prickling sensation of being intensely watched. Out of the corner of her eye, She saw that Ignis was no longer watching the people below, but was steadily studying her from head to toe like she was some exotic new object. Heated from the revitalizing Ebony surging through her veins, her face flushed bright red as she self-consciously ducked her head down behind the safety of her now empty mug. "Something wrong?"

With a grace that shouldn't have been possible by such a simple movement as placing his mug on the table between us, Ignis shifted in his seat to grant her the full power of his stern gaze. "Please forgive my intrusion, but I have repeatedly noticed that your hands seem to be giving you a moderate amount of pain within the last few hours, most notably as you attempt to grip an item such as the mug in your hands or the spoon from your dinner earlier." He straightened one long finger to indicate where her hands were so awkwardly cupped around the mug. "Would you be willing to remove your gloves and allow me to tend to your hands?"

Ignis expression was so sweet and concerned about her well being that it caused her heart to briefly flutter in her chest. Without a sound, Vassa placed her mug on the table and slowly tugged off first her left and then her right glove. The black leather creaked under the the forced movement, the well-fitted fabric much tighter and more difficult to remove than it would have been merely a few hours ago. She had suspected that her fingers and knuckles had swollen from combat earlier, an Imp's body is still hard no matter where you punch the daemon, not even mentioning the face of the kickback from stormbinding her blades, but her suspicion were confirmed as her skin was slowly revealed inch by inch. The skin across her knuckles was swollen and slightly puffy all the way down to the joint in the middle of her fingers, a deep red flush spreading across the joints where the leather had protected her skin from breaking open under the strain, but also hadn't prevented the bleeding from spreading underneath her skin. A slight blue flush had started to color the base of her knuckles, painting a mottled mixture of angry red and wounded blue against her pale skin that was almost mesmerizing. Wow, I didn't really think it was that bad. She idly thought as she laid her hands on the table in full view of Ignis's through inspection. 

"Just a moment, please." Ignis murmured softly before rising to venture inside the room for a moment. When he returned, a small vial filled with a clear oil glinted softly in his hands. The heels of his shoes clicked against the flooring of the balcony, the muted thuds increasing the speed of her heart as she watched him return to his seat and remove his own gloves starting with the tip of each finger. _Is he.... Oh, Astrals he is._ Vassa struggled to swallow against the sudden desert that had burst to life in her throat as he reached across the table and lifted her own hands into his , delicately dabbing the sweet floral scented oil across her skin before massaging it gently to her abused muscles with soothing strokes of his long fingers. "You still appear to be having some difficulty maintaining control of your lightening elemancy." He commented idly, allowing his attention to remain on where his fingers gently smoothed the skin between the joints of her thumb and first finger on her right hand.

Her eyes shifted upwards, focusing on his face as the humming buzz of nerves buzzed through her body. True, she had never been the greatest of elemental users like he was with fire, but she had been decent enough in battle with lightening magic that she had gained a particular affinity for the volatile magic. As a vassal of Noctis's Pure Lucian heritage, she was allowed a certain privilege to summon her weapons on command, a feat tied directly to Noctis's strength and crown. But despite the long hours of training undergone for years of her life, her control on the finer aspects of binding elemental magic to her weapons still left quite a bit to be desire. She had been knocked out more than once by a particularly violent kickback of elemental magic released before it's time, but she much rather experienced that effect rather than the violent upchucking of young Kingsglaives during their warping training. 

"If you don't mind my suggestion, it might be of a benefit to you if we trained together regarding your handling of elemancy. It has greatly concerned me when the magic ripped itself from your control, and that is not the first time I, myself, have witness such an event. And I do know for certain that Gladio, Prompto, and Noctis all are concerned as well. Wielding elemancy is a difficult subject in itself and extremely dangerous, and I am greatly concerned that you may find yourself severely injured." 

She could barely meet his gaze, the hint of emerald peeking over the dark frame of his glasses. _It's okay, Iggy. I'm just a spare part. I know that. I wish you wouldn't worry about me so much._ Only too late did she really that she had actually whispered her thoughts out loud.

Ignis straightened so suddenly that a small squeak of surprise slipped from her lips. The massaging movements of his fingers stopped, carefully cradling her hands in his larger ones like they were made of the most fragile glass. What took her breath away was the His eyes were glowing like fire, emerald flames shimmering and dancing behind the shield of his glasses that for a moment, she swore she was looking at his Sagefire when summoned in battle. "Vassa, I must ask of you what has given you an such idea that is most certainly false?" Compared to the fiery emotion in his eyes, the tone of his voice was steady and even. The ever calm Ignis Scientia, never flustered or broken no matter the situation at hand, had no idea just how much he had opened an old wound. 

Vassa pursed her lips and blew out a long breath, drawing her lower lip through her teeth in a quick bout of nerves. When did the idea first start taking root like an unwanted weed? For years now she had wondered about the same conclusion, but today's activities had shown her that despite her best attempts, her best just wasn't good enough. It was never good enough. "Just forget it, Iggy. I'm tired and rambling. Don't think anything about it." The accompanying glare that quickly followed her statement was one that had her squirming like an insect pinned under a microscope. The razor sharp close inspection of one that she might have sworn had mind reading powers before he sighed once again and returned to his work. 

Any hope that she had of Ignis forgetting what she said was most certainly sunk, the man had never forgotten a single thing that she could remember aside from his own well being and his birthday, but this impromptu care session had also granted her the rare opportunity to study his features at close range. His glasses had slipped down the slope of his nose slightly, exposing a slender slice more of his emerald eyes than what was normally visible to her sight. Entirely focused on the actions, it had allowed her to observe the small crinkled lines of concentration that framed the tender skin around his eyes. His brows had drawn down as well with the effects of his focus and her earlier statement, firming his lips into a thin line as the pressure extended down into a clenched jaw. She tilted her head slightly to the left, considering the almost painful look of tension spread across his features. _I don't know why all the staff at the Citadel always said that Iggy was so stoic and frightened of him, he just has an intense level of concentration and maybe just a hint of an angry resting face. Poor guy really works himself to the bone. I wonder if he's even taken a breath for himself since this all started? He's probably got a killer migraine by now, I wonder if he would let me return the favor? Probably not._

"Thank you, Ignis. That feels wonderful now." Now fully healthy and limber once again, Vassa let her now boneless feeling fingers slip through his as he leaned up once again, reaching to close the bottle of lavender and rosewater oil with one hand and rubbing at his temples. She started to raise her hands with the intention of massaging his own aching temples, but her courage quickly failed her and she let them fall back into her lap. "It's late, I better go and let you get to bed. Dawn doesn't wait for anyone you know. So you sleep tight and don't let Gladio bite." At least her little retort disguised the pounding of her heart in her chest, also earning a light grin from Ignis in return that did not a single thing to slow her feelings at all. 

"I wish you a peaceful rest as well, Vassa." He nodded, still sitting in the chair before turning around to glance her way. With the moonlight shining down from above, his tawny hair turned silver in the pale light as it danced and played about his features, illuminating every chiseled feature in sharp detail that not even the most talented artist could match. He was beautiful and fierce at the same time, looking like he was ready to journey into battle at just a moments notice should she say the word. "I do expect your prompt arrival for the preparation of breakfast in the morning. I will need your assistance to prepare a serving of Creamy Crustacean Omelette and no other will suffice." Ignis's brisk but kind tone left no room for arguments. Brisk but kind, she allowed the smallest of shy smiles to twist her lips as she nodded her head slightly before slinking to her own room, giving a small wave of her hand to Gladio as he peered over the edge of his book, and pulling a blanket over both a slumbering Prompto asleep in a chair as she passed by.


	9. Chapter 9 ~ A Morning of Migraines and Leftover Crab

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was inspired a little bit by Tumblr's Ignis Scientia Estrogen Brigades Igtober 2020 list. So the prompts 5. Glasses and 13. Flustered also inspired a few little sections of this chapter. See if you can spot them ;)

_Memories. So many memories._

_A much younger Noctis, smiling without a single care in Eos, calling for her to join him in a game of hide and seek. Regis, still standing tall and proud without the silver frost of age, beaming at whatever colorful scribble she had bestowed upon him like it was a great work of art. A young Ignis, his thick tawny fringe of hair drooping in his bespectacled eyes, nervously chasing after his charge lest the young prince fall and injure himself. A younger Gladio, playfully challenging her burning arms to another round of push-ups when she swore couldn't move a muscle with the reward of an ice cream for her efforts. A younger Prompto, helping her study for a math exam when they were really binging on the latest episodes of Li'l Malbuddy._

_Scenes from her life flickered in front of her eyes, moving faster and faster like an old roll of film till the edges started to heat and burn. Flecks of greyish ash floating into the air as one by one, her memories slid through her fingers and burned to cinders._

_"Beware Gentle One," A soft but distinctly feminine voice whispered with a winter's chill that raised a sheen of goosebumps across her skin. "The darkness of legends lingers closer than one knows, trying to cease the light's shining power. Beware those who wear false smiles when hearts know otherwise."_

"Gentiana!" Vassa screamed as she lurched up in her bed. Sweat soaked and panting, her chest heaved like she had just run a marathon while her hands vainly clutching at the blankets pooled around her waist. By itself, her right hand rose into the air, pale fingers extended in a search for the raven haired messenger of the Astrals who was no longer there, or perhaps had never been there at all. Despite the warmth of the morning, a lingering chill still wound tight across her skin, making her shiver and tremble as if it was the coldest morning of winter. 

But most importantly, she was alone. Entirely alone.

Vassa blinked slowly, letting her unaided blurry vision sweep across the room as she slowly collected herself, but the messenger's warning that she left ringing in Vassa's thoughts echoed eerily. "Beware those who wear false smiles? What does that mean?" She muttered to herself as she flung the damp blankets aside, rising up to fetch her clothes, boots, and items still placed exactly as she left them prior to her sleep. The faintest rays of the early rising sun starting to breach the horizon beyond the frame of her window, slanting across the floor in small specks of orange light. It was nearly dawn and much too early to try and figure out a mysterious message from the Astrals without caffeine.

Shuffling straight into the bathroom with an Flan-like creeping shuffle, Vassa struggled to mold herself into something resembling a human with the single hope that perhaps Ignis was already awake and had seen fit to brew a fresh pot of Ebony. If not, than a can would make do. In whatever form it appeared in, the promise of Ebony is what thought she kept firmly in mind as she nearly choked herself while brushing her teeth, stumbled and painfully fell on her rear while trying to pull on her pants, and almost gave herself a concussion when she hit her head on the bed while trying to retrieve her lost glasses. The final straw came when she was trying to lock her room door and somehow managed to misplace her keys in the pockets of her jacket. "Screw mysterious predictions, I'm gonna need the Astral's divine blessing just to make it through the day! " Vassa muttered to herself, rummaging through her pockets in search of the shiny metal key.

"What's up with you, pipsqueak? Sounds like somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed."

Looking up at the large dark shadow that had suddently decided to drape itself over her. She found a broadly smiling Gladio looming over her shoulder like some kind of giant conjured up straight from a fairy tail, complete with the human he intended to eat slung over his shoulder like a doll and a disturbingly happy grin creasing up his scarred and unscarred cheeks. The third member of the conversation wasn't quite up to particpating just yet. With his dark pants slightly sliding down to reveal a hint of yellow Chocobo printed boxers, Prompto gave a pathetic little whine/snort and a wriggle before falling still, arms and legs draped limply across Gladio's broad shoulder. "Do I want to know why you've got Prompto slung over your shoulder, or are you using him in place of your weights right now. And is he seriously still asleep?" Suppressing an eye roll, she finally found the key, jammed it in the lock and twisted, being rewarded with a click of the lock sliding home before turning to fully face her friends.

Gladio adjusted his hold on Prompto, shaking the blonde a little bit and earning a fresh snort. "Don't worry about Prompto, he's going wake up real soon when we start running, but we're all a little tired right now. Noctis had a bad night with some nightmares. I figured that his screaming probably woke up half the hotel by now, but he finally settled down when Ig dosed him with a spoonful of Benadryl. He's sleeping like a princess now, but I'll probably have to carry his ass over to the Disc though." 

"Why didn't you guys wake me up? I would have been more than happy to sit with Noct for awhile while you guys slept!" Vassa's hands flew up to her hips, her voice a higher pitched screech sliding between her clenched teeth. These idiots! 

"Because Ignis would have kicked my ass and fed it to me if we so much as breathed on you and woke you up. " Slicking his free hand through the rumbled strands of his mullet, Gladio gave her a little curious side eye. "What I wanna know is just what you and Ignis were chatting about last night? What time he wasn't taken care of Noct, he spent writing in that little notebook of his. I don't think the guy got more than two hours of sleep last night, and any time that I tried to sneak a peek over his shoulder, he summoned one of those daggers of his and started flipping it with one hand. Did either of you share a little something something?" When those two thick eyebrows started waggling above dark eyes positively full of mischief and curiosity, a thick scarlet blush bloomed so quick across her face that she actually got a little dizzy. 

"It's none of your business, nosy butt. Ignis and I had a private conversation. No ifs, ands, or buts about it." Brushing straight past him, Vassa didn't resist the temptation to give him a quick elbow jab in the ribs, but Gladio didn't even flinch. Probably didn't even feel it really. Instead, he started trampling along behind her like a big puppy, Prompto still limply flapping around on his shoulder and giving a soft snort every now and then. 

"Come on! You can't just leave it at that! I've had so many thoughts about what happened. Did he confess? Did you? Did you guys kiss? I could see you guys doing the Ron and Hermione thing, kissing in the middle of battle. " With a face as red and burning as hot as Ifrit's flames, she kept on walking with her head lowered down and her bangs shielding her face, completely ignoring Gladio as he started to recite some of the most passionate kiss scenes in any of the books he'd recently read, and more than half of them she had read too. So it was very safe to say that by the time she reached the door to the guys room, she was praying to the Astrals that the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

"Gladio, if you shut up, I'll tell you one _single_ detail." Reaching out to open the door, She spun around on her heel and slowly backed into the room, keeping one hand on the door the entire time while crooking her finger for him to lean in a little closer.

If a person could be happy, Gladio's face lit up like she had just offered him a new limited edition Coleman tent. "Really? What?" He stooped down nearly double to meet her shorter height. 

Vassa's eyes darted from side to side, a rapid blur of stormy grey as she made sure that there was no surprise witnesses before moving closer to the shield's ear. "Stop reading romance novels and get some bleach for your mind!" She hissed, stepping back and slamming the door shut as quickly as she could right in his face. Her back met the wood with a solid thump as she leaned against it, but instead of the outraged curse she was expecting to fall from Gladio's mouth, she was greeted with his growling laugher echoing down the hall in sync with his fading steps. Her head tilted back, eyes fluttering shut as the coolness of the wood flooded a slight relief to her heated skin even through the blanket of her thick hair. Wonderful, just a wonderful start to the day. Death by embarrassment again.

"Gladio, if I have to tell you one more time to stop slamming the door- Oh, Vassa! My apologies. I assumed that you were Gladio based on the clatter that was shaking the whole room." With quick clicking steps coming from the small kitchenette, the tall frame of Ignis appeared around the corner from the depths of the kitchenette. Once again, his dark jacket was missing, leaving him in only his dark pants and purple Coeurl print shirt. The long sleeves were half rolled up, exposing the rare sight of his leanly muscled forearms, and his glasses had slightly slipped down his nose. A mildly curious expression quickly replaced the deep scowl that had nearly caused his eyes to vanish into green slits, his head tilting up just slightly as he glanced down through his frames. "Is something wrong?"

She let out a loud breath, pushing herself away from the door, and casually twisting a finger through the ends of hair. "No, everything's fine. Gladio is just being annoying today."

"Indeed, he has possessed that quality today." Tossing a quick glance over his shoulder to check on something in the kitchen, Ignis walked over to the first bed that held a worm like lump beneath the covers. Based on previous experience, Vassa highly suspected that the lump was most likely formed by her slumbering cousin, and she couldn't suppress a giggle when Ignis peeked under a corner of the blanket to see if there was any life underneath. "Noct, are you feel any improvement?" 

The king himself quickly jerked the soft material right out of his adviser's hand as as soon as the first ray of light invaded the dark domain. A thick mumbled sound of something that could have been a growl or a curse came from the lump contained within the cocoon.

"I see somebody's in hibernation this morning." Vassa crossed over and poked her finger against the top part of what she thought was a head, getting a slightly louder growl as a reward for her effort. "Why didn't you let me know so I could help?" 

"There was simply no need to wake you once you were resting. You needed your rest and his highness's nightmares were subdued easily enough."

Following behind Ignis as he returned to the kitchen, Vassa arched one eyebrow as she spoke. "Gladio told me you drugged him with Benadryl." She murmured idly while watching him lift a spoon and slowly stir one of two metal pans simmering on top of the small stove.

To his credit, Ignis never broke from his well crafted facade. The rhythmic screech of the spoon scratching against the base of the pan obstructed whatever reply Ignis murmured oh so softly. In response to his motions, the smooth scent of freshly simmering spiced soy sauce and the sharper tang of cooking meat curled around Vassa like a warm blanket. She couldn't help but take in a deep breath, letting her eyes flutter closed just for a moment to fully enjoy the delicious aroma. That is, till her stomach decided to remind her rather loudly that she had never fully finished my dinner last night.

"I take it someone is feeling rather hungry this morning." Ignis's deep chuckle was almost as rich as the sauce he was stirring, but her cheeks still burned with embarrassment as she ducked her head slightly, the tips of her teeth dragging over her lip as visible evidence of her fragile nerves. _It was going to be okay. Ignis kept secrets. And maybe, just maybe, he did actually dismiss my blurb as nothing more than tired brain ramblings last night. The Astrals know any one of us has said all kinds of weird ass crap while sleeping, him included._ "If you wouldn't mind, could I ask for you to hand me the bottle of oyster sauce? I can't quite reach it at the moment."

Snapping back to attention with a little jolt, Vassa noticed for the first time that Ignis was stirring the pan of simmering sauce with his left hand, while also stirring an yellow eggish looking mixture with his right. The King of Insomnia may have been sleeping, but the King of the Kitchen was in full motion. A stray tendril of hair had started to droop from his carefully cultivated style, the single strand dangling artfully over the slightly lowered rim of his frames, accompanying the glance of his eyes to the side as he gazed to the table just to her left where the little amber bottle sat beside his notebook, fully open and spread out across the table with it's creamy white pages exposed to the air. Before she could even step one foot in that direction, Ignis let go of both spoons and rushed over, snatching up both items and placing the notebook into the security of his back pants pocket. "My apologies, Vassa. I was able to fetch it myself. There was no need to concern yourself" He chattered just a tad too quickly, a slight change in tone that would have been overlooked if it were not something that she had learned to detect from years past.

She blinked, still slightly unsure that her eyes had actually just shown her that a nervous Ignis Scientia had just hidden something from her, and that he may or may not have been lying about something in his notebook. 

Her eyes darted from the disappearance of his personal leatherbound notebook to his face that was now slightly colored the palest tinge of pink. His eyes were firmly trained on the pans simmering on the stove, not meeting her eyes in the slightest way, and stirring the bubbling sauce with a normally steady hand now just the slightest bit too fluttery. Vassa raised an eyebrow, still not quite sure that she had just watched the most composed man she know nearly lose it over because she had barely glanced at his notebook. It wasn't like it was some big secret, she knew he kept his recipes ideas, little random thoughts, and notes of stuff that he wanted to remember in it. Ignis had even shown it to her a couple times on occasion. So, what was the big deal now? Had everyone went a little insane while she was was sleeping? That was the only explanation that she could come up with anyway.

**Shuffle Thump, Shuffle Thump**

Like a girl straight from a horror movie, Vassa's eyes went wide and her hands came up into tight fists, spinning on her heel to face whatever kind of monster was creeping up on behind her and prepared to kick it into next week. 

Totally swaddled in a cocoon of gold and white striped blankets from top to bottom, two slightly hazy blue eyes peered out from a dark split that formed a viewing hole for the person inside. A total blanket burrito with the ends trailing the floor like a long tail, Noctis or what she assumed was Noctis and not a Tonberry in disguise or something, shuffled across the floor to stand between her and Ignis, looming menacingly over the pan of eggs and giving a suspicious sniff. "Mmm... I'm hungry... What's cooking?"

"Creamy Crustacean Omelette, if that suits his highness. Or might you prefer something else a tad more gentle on the stomach?" With a quick flick of his wrist, Ignis flipped off one of the controls from the stove and removed the creamy yellow eggs from the heat. Placing the pan off to the side, he opened the oven and removed a square pan covered in foil, the scent of the lusciously seasoned crab meat escaping through a small peaked vent. 

"Sounds fine... Tell me when your done." With small shuffled steps, the cocoon of Noctis retreated into the bedroom, taking two more steps before pausing and face planting straight on the bed with a loud whumph and a squeak of protest from the springs of the bed.

"Poor thing, He hasn't been this bad in a long time." Vassa muttered softly under her breath. Completely full of concern, she idly wondered if she should go in there and try to unwrap him or just leave him be however he was comfortable. 

"Indeed, Noct didn't care to elaborate on what sort of matter his nightmares contained, although I do have my suspicions that they contained a battle of some sort against the empire, and at times, he mentioned Lunafreya's dog Pryna by name." Ignis started to mix in some of the seasoned crab meat into his seasoned sauce. "Vassa, would you mind terribly if I asked for you to finish preparing the rice mixture I cooked earlier?"

"Sure thing, Iggy. No problem at all." It was almost second nature that had Vassa shedding her jacket and washing her hands at the small sink, falling into sync with Ignis's motions as they combined the remaining ingredients into four flavorful dishes. Cooking with Ignis was an elegant motion, almost like a dance so to speak, and one that she hated to see end, but end it did once she placed the last strip of seasoned crab meat on top of the four plates of carefully crafted Creamy Crustacean Omelette. Gladio and Prompto were due back any moment from their morning run, and Noctis was still asleep in his blanket burrito, so for the moment, a rare peace reigned along with a fresh can of Ebony. 

At least it was a little peace for her. Now that Ignis had finished his cleaning efforts to the very highest standards of a sparkling kitchen worthy of a magazine cover, he had elected to rest his hip against the side of the counter, a can of Ebony in his hands that was slowly being sipped with the upmost grace. It was the way that his knuckles strained against the sides of the can that caught Vassa's eye, an unintentional power resulting in his composed features to take on a certain stiffness that had grown since she had first noticed the subtle hints of a migraine playing across his features last night. 

Slowly taking an experimental sip of her own Ebony, the thought of a massage popped right back into her head. She was sure it would help, but Ignis agreeing to it was another thing. For one, he did not want anyone to make a fuss over him if he had an ailment of any sort. Even going so far as to work straight through a seven day case of the flu that had sent many of the staff at the Citadel home on the very first day. Regardless, if they had any hope of actually driving to the Disc alive, they needed Iggy at his best because no one else could pilot the Regalia in a halfway driveable condition. Gladio drove like a daemon and would cuss out anyone else driving on the highway, Prompto had some kind of weird aura that made any automobile malfunction as soon as he put his hands on the wheel, and Noctis could have tried out for a car race at the speed he preferred to drive. Vassa could drive, but the boys swore that she drove too slow. Like 45 was too slow. "Hey Iggy, can I ask you something?" She said softly, placing her can down with a neat little click on the counter.

His eyes slanted across the rim of his Ebony, half suspicious and half something else that almost looked like hope glistening from behind his glasses. "Proceed, Vassa. What is it you wish to know?" Placing his own can aside, Ignis crossed his arms across his chest while granting her the full realm of his attention.

No matter how much she tried to ignore it, Vassa couldn't help but see the way the rolled up sleeves of his dress shirt deliciously strained across his biceps with the movement. _Thank you Iggy. Thank you for that fantasy now when I was trying to be serious._ Forcing her eyes over to the chair, she nervously bit at the edge of her lower lip, a subtle wave of self doubt that she could actually pull this off causing her finger to shake as she pointed over to a nearby chair. "You wanna sit a minute before they get back?"

Ignis blinked twice, obviously expecting her to ask something else, but whatever thought had flashed through his mind was now gone as he returned to his normal self and flashed a small if slightly pained smile. "Sorry, but I must decline. There are still a few items on my agenda to attend to before we leave this morning."

"Iggy, just sit down for like thirty seconds, please? I won't ask for another thing." Vassa flashed her fingers in a come here motion, slowly walking backwards towards the chairs and smiling her most winning smile. So far so good, she prayed to the Astrals that she wouldn't trip over anything and kill herself while walking. She tried to imitate Prompto's pleading puppy dog eyes, but her glasses nearly fell off her face while trying to make sure that her eyes achieved that certain level of tear glistened pleading. Whatever the case, it worked as Ignis let out a long winded sigh that sounded like it came from the very depths of his core before following her into the nearest chair.

"Are you quite satisfied now?" Ignis asked as he sank down with a soft sigh, long legs folding artfully beneath him as he took a moment to rub a single long finger against the aching portion of his right temple.

"Hmm... Not quite." Vassa took advantage of his momentary lapse of concentration to reach out and pluck his glasses straight from their perch on the slope of his nose. She couldn't lie, the undignified squawk that emerged from his lips was totally not like him, but it was still so funny that she wished that she had videoed the proof on her phone.

"Vassa, what exactly has possessed you to do any such? Please do return my spectacles to me at once!" The tight lines around Ignis's eyes formed by the migraine quickly etched into deep groves as his eyes squinted into small emerald slits, his attempt to try and see her face as he swiped at her hands for custody of his glasses. For a brilliant strategist, that was one battle he certainly would not win. After a lifetime of playing keep away with Noct, Vassa was pretty much a master at evading his attacks and parried each one of Ignis's searching fingers with only her elbows. Cautiously laying aside his glasses on the smooth surface of the nearby table, she danced away to fetch the small bottle of oil Ignis had used on her hands last night from the inventory sachel and nearly tripping over her own two feet while she did. Ignis sighed sharply at her thumping movements, the sound one of the more irritated noises she had ever heard him make as his hands fluttered across the table in search of his frames. "Vassa, I'm sure that this activity has been very amusing to you, but the time for foolery is over now. Please return my spectacles to me!"

"Iggy, I wasn't doing this because I thought it was funny. You've got a migraine and I want to help you." Vassa replied, her fingertips quickly finding the smooth surface of the bottle. Returning to his side, she reached up a hand and pulled off her gloves by the palms with her teeth, idly noticing that Ignis had stopped to watch her through squinted eyes as she placed her gloves aside on the table next to his frames and tipped the bottle over to pour a few droplets of the oil out onto her fingers. "Are you ready for a little relaxation?"

"You could have asked." The muscle in his jaw was ticking sharply, squinted eyes flashing as he seemed to battle with himself over the desire to give in to my demand or not.

"And you would have said no. Now we're wasting time." She spread her oil coated fingers wide, ready for massaging and tipped her head to the side where her bangs and free strands of hair curled about her face cutely, pearly white teeth flashing in her most persuasive smile. "Please?"

Ignis sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers before he finally relented and leaned forward, his arms and elbows resting on his knees and head bowed forward to allow her to do as she wished. A deep scarlet blush spread across his cheeks as her fingers met the skin around his temples, his neck and shoulders so stiff with tension that it was painful for Vassa just to look at him. "Relax," She cooed, rubbing small circles into his skin that was hopefully helping to soothe away the pain.

Ever so slowly, the reddish blush on his cheeks faded as he finally gave in to her touch. His eyelids grew heavy, shielding his brilliant eyes from her sight, and the carved tension lines around his eyes softened. Her fingers kept up the small, tight circles and his stress filled scowl slowly unknotted, becoming a shy smile that curled the edges of his plump lips. For a moment, everything seemed to become hyper focused on the contact between her skin and his. The feel of his warm breath against the inside of her wrists, becoming slower and deeper as the migraine finally released it's painful hold but ticklish all the same.

"Thank you, Vassa. You have my most sincere gratitude." Ignis said, his beautiful voice almost husky with relief as he fluttered open emerald eyes now gone slightly hazy with relief now that the painful throbbing had faded. She swallowed heavily, her hands now dropping to the sides like dead weights as more than a few familiar bubbles of feelings burst to the surface. This time it was Vassa's turn to blush bright red as she fumbling for his glasses. He was so close, too close for her own safety if her now speeding heart was anything to judge by.

**Wham!**

"Hey, Ig, V! What have you two got cooking? It smells great!" The door to the room went flying against the opposite wall with one hearty shove of Gladio's thick shoulder, nearly ripping her out of her own skin from fright as she visibly jolted by the shield sudden appearance. Mentally praising and cursing Gladio for his abruptness, and for the suspicious look that he threw their way, she ruffled a hand through her hair as she turned to see greet him. "Well, well. What do we have here?" He drawled lowly, dark eyes flashing as they slid between two darkly blushing faces.

"Who cares. Let's eat!" Prompto came to the rescue. The smaller blond ducked under Gladio's arm, easily sliding into the room to ruffle a hand through Vassa's hair before heading over to the bundle that was Noctis, sinking down on the bed with a large bounce that earned a grumbled growl from the slumbering king. "Hey, buddy! Wake up! It's time to chow down!"

"Yes, precisely the idea." Ignis hands fluttered over the creases in his pants as he rose from his chair, a painfully scarlet blush staining his pale skin almost to the point that it looked like a painful sunburn. He immediately vanished into the kitchen, but when Vassa started to offer her help, a different hand restrained her arm.

"Gladio, don't you start." She warned low under her voice.

The shield's scarred face was the pure picture of innocence. "Who? Me? Tease you about you and Ig being so close that you were breathing each other's air? Not me. I would never do that to my favorite pipsqueak" The smirk that stretched across his face was one that she wanted to slap right off... if she could actually reach up that far. "Actually I wanted to give you a little something I picked up while we were training." 

"What is it?" Vassa said, half of her afraid at what the shield was reaching behind his back for. 

With a smooth sweep. He pulled out a long single handed sword, the blade an elegant upswept curve from the hilt to the tip of shining silver that sparkled in the light like it had been carved from pure crystal itself. Small dark blue gems the color of a night sky and shaped like stars were embedded in the elegantly carved hilt, ominously glistening with the light at a darker future use. "The weapons dealer said it was named Storm Surge and one of his best blades for combat. A one handed blade with electricity forged in it's core, he said that foes weak to electricity best beware of their fate. I though it was a lot of hype at the time, but I saw it and thought of you. It beats the heck out of that little blade you've got, plus it wouldn't do you any harm to have an extra weapon to summon."

Vassa frowned slightly, taking the sword from Gladio and testing it's limits with a quick slice through the air. No longer than the brief moment that she had handled it, it already felt like an extension of herself already, hissing through the air without even the slightest bit of resistance as she twirled and spun, ending with the sword tip point directly under Gladio's throat and crackling softly with just the barest hint of blue tinged electricity dancing across the silver steel. "Thanks so much, Gladio. I'll keep it handy, but I'm still going to keep my other sword handy too. It never hurts to have a non-magical weapon on hand. You'll see that someday." She winked.

Sliding her hands down the length of the blade, a shimmering blue light spread across the weapons' surface like water submerging the entire length before it vanished into a shower of blue sparkles. Vassa felt a new mental command to summon the weapon fall into place as the weapon equipped, thanks in part to Noctis's magic, and she knew that it was ready to be used in battle whernever it was needed. With the excitement of a brand new weapon in her possesion sending a surge of happiness rolling through her veins, she promptly pounced on her taller friend with an excited squeal, actually managing to make Gladio stagger back a step under the sudden assault before she slipped off to help Ignis serve the remains of breakfast, leaving the ordeal of waking Noctis to her newly returned friends. 

Some time later, after several of Ignis's pans had been clapped together over the top of the slumbering king's head. Noctis finally emerged from his cocoon and even more momentously, actually got himself ready while they all prepared for the journey to the Disc. Their breakfast was quickly devoured before walking down to the normally empty parking space and overlook.

Except that the overlook wasn't quite so empty this morning. A man, tall with shaggy reddish tinted hair that shone violet in the bright morning sun, and strong features bordered with a slight hint of stubble gazed out into the beyond through one of the silver standing binoculars . His amber eyes glowed almost inhumanly bright beneath the shield of his dark fedora as he turned to watch their approach, the hat a similar shade of dark grey that complemented the heavy dark trench coat and red scarf he wore despite the morning's warmth, all fluttering slightly in the morning breeze. "Good morning! It's a beautiful day for a drive, isn't it?" The stranger turned and greeted them with a smile. 

"What the-" Prompto muttered, ducking behind Ignis's taller figure as the adviser leaned back on his heel, emerald eyes flashing as sharp as razors as he thoroughly inspected the newly arrived suspicious stranger. 

"You." Noctis grumbled, his face composed into a stoic mask as he crossed his arms over his chest. His blue eyes turning to frosted chips of the most suspicious blue ice as his chin jutted out slightly. 

A thorn sharp prick of dread began to painfully tug at Vassa's heart once again, the feeling entirely too familiar to what she had experienced while sleeping, and it was with that same sense of danger she felt after waking this morning that she watched the suspicious stranger walk closer.


	10. Chapter 10 ~ Strangers and Strange Thoughts

Vassa shifted her weight on the balls of her feet, uneasily glancing at the other's expressions as the tall stranger turned and noticed their approach. A small jaunty smile curved up his lips as he turned away from the binoculars and slowly ambled forward, one hand upright in a wave of welcome as he started to speak. "What a coincidence to meet you all here."

"I don't think it is." Gladio immediately shifted into guard mode, placing a heavy restraining hand on Noctis's shoulder as he stationed himself directly between the king and this unknown man. _Or maybe Gladio knows him too well..._

There certainly was something suspicious in the way this man walked, his raggedy long coat sweeping in times with his lightly staggering steps, and the many layers of various clothes he wore almost make it appear that he had walked in to a charity store and decided to put on every scrap of clothing he could find. Her fingernails dug into the meat of her palms, the leather of her gloves almost tearing under the pressure, and the faintest shimmering outline of her blades hovered inside the folds of her fingers, just a single mental tug away from fully manifesting. Who exactly was this man and how did they all seem to know him so well? And it surely wasn't a friendly greeting that the guys were extending. No. Her gazed flicked from side to side. No. this certainly wasn't friendly at all.

Gladio's fierce scowl could have broken bones just as easily as his fists, the white shade to his knuckles betraying just how tightly clenched his fists were and perhaps only moments away from finding themselves a new home in the stranger's face. As a complete opposite to Gladio's smoldering embers of anger, Ignis's glacier cold appraising glance could have frozen a wildfire into mere ashes if he had so inclined. For a moment, Vassa half expected the stranger to freeze fully in his tracks. Noctis himself was calm and collected, but his suspicious scowl was not something to be taken lightly as he glared from beneath the fringe of his raven hair that drooped over his eyes. Prompto was more like herself, nervously shifting from foot to foot while his eyes darted over each one of their friend's expressions before he finally met her own, flashing a quick sheepish smile and a small thumbs up with his hand held low to his side.

Whoever this suspicious stranger was, he was quite unconcerned with the obviously hostile greeting, continuing to saunter right over as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Aren't nursery rhymes curious things?" The slightly salty breeze drifting off the water, further tousling the spiky reddish strands of his hair that poking out from beneath the brim of his faded black fedora like the wild tendrils of a thorny vine. The tangled mass looked even worse than Noctis's most extreme bedhead and that wasn't something to be proud of because the king's bedhead was fearful indeed. "Like this one: From the deep, the Archaean calls. Yet on deaf ears, the gods' tongue falls. The King made to kneel in pain, he crawls."

Okay... That was different. She raised one eyebrow, glancing over to Ignis to see if he understood, but he merely shook his head. It was Prompto who ventured enough courage to ask a question, but it wasn't quite the question that she was expecting either. Just like if he was in school, Prompto tentatively raised his left hand and waved it slightly to grab the stranger's attention. "Uh, quick question? So how do we keep him on his feet?" He ended with a slightly uncomfortable high pitched chuckle.

The stranger chuckled lightly, the slick coils of a chilling shiver knotting themselves tightly around her spine as she rocked back a step in surprise when the stranger brushed past the center of their little group. Catching an uneasy questioning glance from Noctis, she nodded that she was fine, but his expression tightened with something not quite readable.

Shuffling on, the stranger walked over to the edge of the overlook and slowly took a wandering gaze out to the water beyond, seemingly looking at both everything and nothing at all. "You need only to heed the call. Visit the Archaean and hear his plea." He mumbled mysteriously, half almost talking to himself more than he was to them.

"Great! Why did we have to get the fruitcake?" Gladio's deep whisper brought out a quick snicker that Vassa tried to hide by covering her lips with her hand, but Ignis's lethally sharp glare quickly silenced the bubbles of amusement.

The soft rasp of boots against stone snapped Vassa's attention away from Gladio's grumbles and back to the strange man himself. The stranger slowly shuffled around, the sharp slap of his coat flapping freely in the breeze sounding like miniature thunderclaps breaking high in the sky. "I can take you to the Archaean if you wish?" he smiled broadly, those ever searching eyes twinkled with some inner deep spark of humor that wasn't quite as reassuring as it sounded.

Ignis stepped forward, effectively cutting off the reply Noctis was about to say by stepping in front of the king and leveling his own reply towards the stranger. "Just one moment, if you will." He smiled politely, albeit still frosty enough to freeze off at least a hand and a few toes as well. "We would like to confer on this matter."

"Of course," With a casual shrug of his shoulders, the stranger returned to his view of the sea as if he didn't have a care in the word.

They quickly huddled together, Vassa quickly finding herself sandwiched between Prompto and Noctis while Gladio barely waited until they were all turned away before he whispered, "We in or not? You guys do realize this dude is a few French fries short of a Kenny Crow Kiddie meal?"

"Gladio, please. He may be a stranger but that certainly does not mean you can disrespect him with a relation of his mental status to a fast food meal." Ignis scowled, sharply glaring at Gladio who refused to acknowledge the scolding with a defiant cross of his arms over his chest. "Although I do have my own concerns about his currently level of sanity myself. We need to take care as the man may very well be a valuable ally for the future."

"I don't know. Gladio's right. There's something about this guy that just feels off." Noctis dipped his head, the shaggy tips of his dark hair falling over his eyes as he stared at the ground around his boots like it held the answer to all his problems. Vassa kind of wish it did because just as much as it seemed that the man was a slightly eccentric but friendly stranger, a nagging feeling of suspicion just wouldn't leave her alone. She twisted her head, glancing over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes as the man seemed to be ignoring them entirely. Yes, there was sometime definitely suspicious about him.

"I guess we can always take the ride, but if something goes wrong, then we just boogey right on out of there at top speed." Prompto's voice lacked the slight sheen of it's normal cheerfulness as he started scuffling the ground with the toe of his shoe, his brows drawn down into slight furrow.

"Fair enough. If none of you have any other objections, I do believe that as long as we are careful and watch our backs, I don't anticipate a great deal of trouble." Ignis whispered softly, the faint hint of grave warning coloring the tone of his voice.

"Okay. Let's do it." Noctis uncrossed his arms, walking straight over to where the stranger lingered to look him straight in the eye. "I guess you can take us."

"As you wish," The man's grin widened just a tiny bit more, blinking slowly as he flattened one hand against his chest. "I'm not one to stand on ceremony, but an occasion such as this calls for an introduction. Please do call me Ardyn." Deep in Vassa's thoughts, something like a little warning bell started going off. That name... She was very sure that she had seen that name before. Somewhere.

"I'm Noctis. This is Gladio, Ignis, Prompto, and Vassa." Noct pointed to each of them in turn from left to right, ending with his thumb pointing at Vassa standing just behind his right shoulder.

It might have just been a trick of the light, but she could have sworn Ardyn's amber eyes flickered with some inner glow as they shifted between her face and Noct's, but it vanished before Vassa was positive she saw anything at all. "How strange, almost exactly the same." Ardyn murmured almost casually, and her thoughts immediately switched track, sinking a little bit further into Noctis's shadow just to get away from that gaze. He's another one of those, it seems. Her teeth started to worry against her lower lip as Ardyn turned and started to walk away. "If you would be so kind as to follow me down to the parking area, that's where I left my automobile. She's such a dear old thing, dependable and trustworthy-."

"If he wants us to have a conversation with his car, I say we run like hell." Gladio's whispered again.

"Gladio, kindly shut up!" Ignis hissed with a tight lipped grimace. In fact, he seemed to be concentration quite clearly on the mindless chatter that Ardyn was bubbling, but the movement of his left hand caught along the edges of Vassa's vision just in time to see his fingers slip right between her own, holding tight and encouraging her to keep pace with the rest of their group instead of falling prey to her thoughts to the point that she fell behind.

Thankfully, or suspiciously curious depending on how you looked at it, Arydn apparently didn't hear Gladio's comment because he kept flowing right through his conversation without interruption."-She does certainly pale in comparison to your Regalia, but she's never let me down." He said as they walked up the steps from the overlook to the parking area. "So we take two vehicles, a convoy of sorts. Shall we?"

Level three alert creeper alert. Warning! Warning! Vassa urgently tugged on Ignis's hand, the taller man easily bending down for her ease without ever breaking a single stride. "Iggy! We didn't tell him what kind of car we have, did we?"

"We most certainly did not." He confirmed with a somber nod of his head.

"I must say, your arrival in such an elegant vehicle caught my eye earlier. It is quite lovely, but it couldn't compare to my darling." Her attention drifted back to the tall stranger as he pointed towards a particular convertible stationed at the end of the lot. A similar shade of faded maroon to his own hair, a wide white strip ran vertically down the center of the hood that highlighted more than few dents and pinpricks of rust that foretold the model's age more than the style of it's body. If Vassa had to guess, it was at least 15 to 20 years or older. "If we are ready, would you do me the honor of assigning your driver to our destination." Adryn smiled, one finger pointing straight as a sword and Noctis's chest. "I choose you."

"Fine by me." Noctis shot back just as quick, one eyebrow raised as his hands propped on his hips. "Let's roll."

"Splendid! You drive your car, and I drive mine. Now, with that decided, let us be off!" Arydn turned on his heel so quick that his trailing ends of his scarf flew up high in the air, nearly smacking poor Prompto in the face if he hadn't ducked just in time to avoid the snapping bite of the flying material.

"Funny. We're in an awful big hurry all of a sudden." Gladio grumbled again, leaning one hip against the hood of the Regalia.

"Yeah, but better find out if it's a trap sooner rather than later." With that twisted little smirk on his lips, Noctis sauntered up to Ignis and held out his hand, fingers wriggling in eager anticipation. "Keys, Specs."

Two long fingers briefly pinched the bridge of Ignis's nose before they dipped with great slowness into the pocket of his jacket, the jingle of a set of silver keys emerging like some rare creature emerging from it's den. Vassa watched with wide eyes as one of the steadiest hands she had ever known trembled slightly as he dropped the keys into Noct's waiting palm. "You're not really going to let him drive, are you?" She asked.

"Woohoo! I call shotgun!" Prompto bounced on the balls of his feet, reaching up to slap Noctis a high five as both guys skittered to the front of the elegant car. The perky blonde slid into the passenger seat before Vassa had even sat down in the back, his fingers quickly spinning through the radio's controls while Noctis turned over the motor and pressed down on the gas, summoning a deep roar of power straight from the heart of the engine.

"Fasten your seatbelts everyone, the Regalia is now under the control of the Noct-master and ready to burn rubber!"

"Please tell me he isn't really serious?" Vassa whipped her head between Gladio and Ignis, but the shield just smiled, propping one thick arm against the door while Ignis fluttered with the fastening of her seatbelt.

"Sadly, he is not. I would recommend finding something to hold on to." Okay, easily done. She threw her arms around Ignis's waist, nearly crushing his ribs with the strength of her grip, and earning herself a small unexpected grunt as the motor thrummed into a higher gear. She held on as tightly as she dared, the ear piercing sounds of squealing tires drowning out every other sound as Vassa spent the entire portion of the trip holding on to Ignis's waist for dear life as they traveled at speeds she didn't know the Regalia was capable of producing.

The guys' chosen music blared at top speed as they nearly flew down the road, a thick thumping base that Prompto nodded his head too while his hands mimic an air guitar while Noctis drove crazy circles around Ardyn's car, sometimes taking curves only on two wheels, with such a daredevil grin that it would have frightened an imp. Occasionally she thought that she heard Ardyn call that it wasn't a race, but it was slightly drowned out by the sound of her screams muffled in Ignis's side. The strategist himself wasn't above letting out his own yelps of surprise, clinging to her just as fiercely as she did him. Gladio was the only one who wasn't effected by Noctis's wild driving skills at all, simply sitting in his seat and watching the scenery blur by with a slight yawn pieced in every now and then. Perhaps since he was the only one used to driving in this style, it simply didn't face him that they might be just a heart beat away from death.

Eventually, Ardyn pulled aside into a Coernix station and campground as the sky started to darken with the oncoming night sky, and the profound sense of relief at the sight of still land swept through her veins with an urge so strong that her head actually started to spin. Vassa lunged for the door as soon as the tires stopped rolling, scrambling over the pointed ends of Ignis's knees to fall flat on her stomach against this rocky ground below. "Thank you, Shiva, Titan, Bahamut, Leviathan, and Ifrit!" She listed each Astral by name, her lips briefly brushing the ground at the end of each title. "Thank you so much for letting me survive another drive with Noctis!"

The door faintly squeaked as the impact of Ignis's shoes struck the ground, and she slightly twisted her head to the side to a thoroughly rumpled Ignis adjusting his glasses with one hand, smooth out the wrinkles her hands hand creased into his jacket, and marched up to the smirking king to granted him one stony look before removing the keys from his hand. "Noct, as long as I possess the abilities to do so, you are never to step behind the wheel of a car again!"

"Yeah, right." The King of Lucis rolled his eyes, already starting to walk towards the convenience station while digging out his wallet.

Since night was looming and it would be unwise to travel to the Disc during nightfall, not to mention that their guide was insisting that they stop and rest, the last remaining vacant camping caravan stationed on the grounds was assigned to them with a simple signature by Noctis. The other four caravans were taken up by vacationing families and Ardyn signed for an entire trailer just for himself. Vassa was surprised to see how the happily vacationing families were going about their vacations considering that the kingdom of Lucis was under attack by the empire, but perhaps it made their arrival less conspicuous.

That didn't stop the nagging bite of her suspicions that something wasn't quite truthful with their guide.

With their lodgings for the evening secured, the next event of dinner was placed in motion by Ignis concocting one of his Burly Bean soups for a quick meal, tasking Vassa with chopping up the carrots for the dish while he prepared the seasoned broth. The knife flashed in her hand, a silver blur quickly dicing up the chunks of firm carrot into tiny bite sized pieces. There was something about the blade thudding so deeply in the wood of the chopping block that was oddly satisfying, almost hypnotizing as a way to burn off some of that restless energy that she was feeling after today's events. Why did that name sound so familiar? Arydn, it shouldn't have meant anything at all. In fact, it didn't really mean anything according to a quick Gaggle search she scrolled through on her phone. But then again, She could remember something about that name, and the way he signed the night lease for the caravan was too fluid, like someone who was used to signing things.

She knew that she had seen that somewhere before.

The knife continued to chop away, her fingers blindly feeding through carrots one after another while she looked out the window and watched the strange man speak with almost comically exaggerated gestures. One time his arms nearly brained poor Prompto in the head, scaring him so bad that he fell out of his chair onto the stony ground below. Vassa almost threw the knife out the window that very instant, the target of Ardyn's arm was almost too easy to miss, but she didn't. Instead she watched Noctis and Gladio have the same reaction, but they stifled it in favor of helping Prompto back to his feet. _Of course the guy was totally crackers like Gladio said, but there's something about him I just don't like. It's not because he said that I was almost the same as Noctis, but what is it? What's making it so hard for me to believe this guy is telling the truth?_

A lingering heavy but extremely pleasant warmth spread up across her back and settled over her arms in the form of two long arms placed atop her own, cool slender fingers easily threading between her hands and stilled their movement with the lightest of touches. "Vassa, that is quite enough carrots for the soup." Stern but warm, She shivered slightly as the puff of Ignis's breath stirred the tips of her hair while her cheeks started to heat up on their own, the rich scent of his sage tinted cologne soaking into her senses like a comforting blanket.

"I don't trust him, Ignis. Not at all. Something doesn't feel right but I can't lay a finger on what it is."

She felt him shift against her back, his fingers parting her own and lifting the knife to lay aside just beyond the deeply scored surface of the chopping board. "Neither do I, and I expect that my suspicions align with yours quite well." Her eyes followed the movement of his slender fingers as they skated up her arm, reaching up to lightly caress her cheek where a particularly shiny, salty liquid clung to Ignis's fingertips like miniature pearls. "But even in moments of frustration from your efforts, it doesn't quite explain these."

Vassa tried to speak, her lips opening and closing like some sort of fish Noctis had reeled up from the deep, but she couldn't quite place the truth. She didn't really know why she had started crying, but she just couldn't stand it. Not the slight warble of concern in his lovely voice or the paused tears that suddenly threatened to overflow from her eyes. And then she did the worst thing possible, something prompted by the weight of exhaustion and frustration laying like a weight against her thoughts.

She turned around in Ignis's arms and buried her face in his chest.

The silent sobs she hadn't realized she was making doubled in power with a painfully sharp heave, raking the breath from her chest in quick sharp jerks that left her shoulders shaking from pure effort, and the painful knot of tension in her heart tightened again. She felt like a fragile vase filled too full of water, threatening to burst at any moment into a thousand tiny pieces that no one would put back together again.

A small murmur of understand rumbled in Ignis's throat, and then his arms that were normally so dead in the events of an occasional hug wrapped around her shoulders and securely held her against him with every ounce of gentle pressure he had. "Shh... It's alright. You will most certainly hate me for saying this, but sometimes you are just like Noct, keeping whatever is troubling you inside until you break. You can trust me with the weight of those thoughts, you know. Any of us would be more than happy to share the burden. We trust you and we do love you. In fact, you are the only one that I would trust in the entirety of Eos to leave this group of mongrels not to starve themselves silly if I should ever decide to take a vacation away from my duties. Surfing has always interested me, and when this business with the empire is finished and Noct's throne is restored, you just might find yourself in command of them while I venture out to Galdin Quay for a few private lessons for a day."

Surfing? Ignis wanted to surf? Vassa's tears momentarily broke, tilting her head back and considered the slight secretive smile and the twin points of flushed color high of his cheeks for a moment. A momentarily imaginative flash of Ignis at his most stoic, hanging ten on a surfboard bare chested and wearing a pair of the most colorfully printed tropical printed swim shorts he could find, one hand upraised in the hang loose sign while the other steadied himself was so comically absurd that she couldn't help a bubble of laughter creeping up and spilling out with a quick smile of her own. "You don't really want to surf, do you?"

"No. I'm quite afraid that was a true lie on my part, but it made you smile and that was my intention," Ignis smiled. "A smile is so much prettier on you than tears." Just as soon as the words left his lips, the implication of what he said must have fully registered as the small bloom of pink quickly spread into a full face flush he said.

"Um... You think I'm pretty?" He said that, Ignis actually noticed that? Somehow the shock just couldn't settle into the tangle of her thickened thoughts. Shuffling herself slightly apart, Vassa leaned back against the edge of the counter and started to scrub her face with her hands. Partly to hide the raging blush that sprinkled her own, and partly because she just couldn't meet his eyes at the current moment. A tiny spark of hope flared slightly deep in her heart, was there some hope in her world that maybe Ignis wasn't quite as oblivious as he seemed? She glanced through her spread fingers and tear fogged frames, noticing how one of his hands had now rose up and tinkered with the edge of his frames, absently both raising and lowering his frame in a curious movement that she knew did nothing for his sight but was merely a nervous tic.

Ignis let out a long sigh, the soft lighting in the trailer making the dark swirls in his eyes even deeper as the air inside the caravan suddenly seemed too thick for Vassa to breathe properly "Actually, I've never truly seen the resemblance myself to his highness. The Caelum gene of the dark hair has held true in your case, but yours in an entirely different shade than Noctis. There's a rich undertone of shine to yours, like a raven's in the way it has a subtle highlight of blue underneath the black, and every now and again when you're in the direct sunlight, I can pick out a few shades of brown that remind me well brewed Ebony. The same can be said about your features, they certainly do not resemble Noct's in more than a passing glance. For starters, your eyes are much wider and ringed with a thick feathery fringe of lashes that perfectly shows off the stormy grey color of your irises. Your nose is far perkier and your bone structure is more slender, petite almost in sync with your height." He finished with his eyes dropping down to meet the area around his shoes, suddenly going shy after revealing so much of what lingered in his thoughts.

Vassa hugged him again.

"Thank you, Iggy!" She whispered, squeezed him so tight that he groaned slightly again. "You don't know how much I appreciate it!"

"Oh... Um, yes. That is quite alright." And then just like every other time, Ignis slithered from her grasp like some kind of tall serpent, leaving her momentarily confused as to how she could be hugging him one moment and then the air the next. It must be the double jointed thing he had.

Once again the man in question stood at the stove, stirring the simmering soup with one hand while glancing down at the clock on his phone with the other, the tips of his ears flushed vibrantly pink in addition to his face. "It's getting rather late, I suppose we do have to feed the hungry ones out there before they decide to gnaw off our legs. And then there is the state of our used clothing to be washed as well, so if you would not mind herding them in, I would greatly appreciate it."

Within the span of two hours, the entire group was fed, cleaned, and tucked into bed except for the bulk of Gladio who insisted on sleeping in his sleeping bag by the door. "Because you never know what kind of weapons that crazy people were hiding" he said, one hand idly resting on the broadsword he had summoned to lay by his leg. Of the two sets of bunk beds in the caravan, Noctis claimed the bottom bunk of the first and promptly dissolved into a pile of mumbled snores after eating and showering, he had actually barely made it into t-shirt and sleep shorts before he crashed face first on the bed, asleep before his head ever met the pillow. Prompt was soon to follow, taking up the top bunk of the second set along with his Chocobo body pillow that was hugged within an inch of his life. Vassa accepted the top bunk over Noctis, and Ignis was the last of all to come to bed as he made sure that all of their attire was perfectly washed and fresh from the dryer before heading to sleep himself.

Except it would have been perfect if Vassa could just go to sleep!

Tossing, turning, even stealing a throw pillow from the closet did nothing to ease her stress. The constant twirling of her mind was really annoying, the random thoughts popping in and out of her mind made absolutely no sense at all as they paraded with all the glory of a Chocobo in a pink tutu walking in a parade. Finally she just gave up, lying flat on her back and counting the dents in the ceiling while the guys peacefully slumbered on.

Then like magic, a tiny paper airplane sailed over to land on her stomach.

 _What in the..._ Scooting back against her pillow, her fingers dived for the paper and eagerly unfolded it along the lines that had so softly been pressed into the crisp surface. It was quite small, the size you might see in a pocket notebook, and lined with perfectly straight black lines that bore a handwritten message scrawled in a perfectly elegant slanted script.

**Having trouble sleeping?**

Vassa's lips twisted into a smile, the thin mattress squeaking as she floundered over to the edge of the railing and peeked over the side. Ignis laid stomach down on his own bed, his long legs sticking partially beyond the edge of the frame, and his normally spiked tawny hair hanging down over his eyes. He glanced up over the top of his glasses, one eyebrow arched high under the strands of disheveled hair with a flare of amusement glittering deep in the emerald of his eyes. She assumed that he might be smiling, but the remaining portion of his face underneath his eyes was buried in the crinkled folds of his pillow, but his broad shoulders shook with the efforts to suppress his laughter as she rolled her eyes and nodded her head.

He walked two fingers across the side of the bed, tilting his head slightly so she could see him mouth the words. "Walk?"

Vassa's gaze drifted over to the tiny window in caravan where the full moon shone quite brightly in the dark of the night, lightly shadowed with a light covering of clouds that were slowly thickening on the bottom with rain, but it surely would hold off long enough for a quick stroll. She bobbed her head again, a restless energy seizing her limbs she gingerly tiptoeing down the ladder and out to fetch her normal attire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually a big chapter than I thought and was split into two, but get ready because it's gonna rain and rain makes all things wonderful. <3


End file.
